Two Brides in Arendelle
by TeodorKINS
Summary: A combination of Frozen and a modified version of the European realpolitiks of the nineteenth century. It includes Elsa's romantic entanglement and political intrigues for the control of Arendelle. Disclaimer: Frozen characters and associated franchises are owned by Disney. No challenge to their legal status is intended. Cover by kind permission of David Lojaya.
1. Introduction

NA: Hi everybody.

Lauren, one of the followers of this story, has kindly offered herself as beta reader. She will check the English of all the chapters already published (Since I'm not a native English speaker this will improve a lot the chapters) and also make her own suggestions for the text. I have just started to upload Lauren's revisions and I'm sure that you will enjoy her great job.

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Anna was on her way to the library. She had just gotten back from a visit to a neighboring kingdom and, after twenty days traveling, was eager to see Elsa.

Three years without an active diplomacy after the death of their parents had left Arendelle a little bit isolated, but Anna, with Kristoff always at her side, was working hard to change it. Their last visit had evolved from a formal courtesy in order to reinforce the bonds between both kingdoms into an attempt to involve Arendelle in a dispute with a third country. Anna had changed the situation, offering Arendelle's intermediation and proposing a conference to be held in Arendelle. If they found out a solution the reputation of Arendelle would be reinforced.

She reached the library and knocked softly. After a while Elsa's voice sounded from behind the door giving permission to enter. Elsa was sitting at her desk reading a letter. The worktable was full of papers. The kingdom had a lot of pending issues and Elsa's attention seemed to always be necessary.

She stood up beaming and went towards her sister.

"How did they treated my right hand woman?" She said spreading her arms wide. Both sisters held each other in a warm and long embrace.

"Well, they have their own ideas about the meaning of a courtesy visit. In fact, they tried to entangle us in a dispute with another kingdom. But, at the end, I have arranged a conference to be held in Arendelle. Do you like the idea?" Anna's eyes sparkled with the idea of a celebration. Elsa couldn't help smiling, but she shook her head.

"Oh Elsa, I know you don't feel comfortable in those social affairs, but the sooner you get used to them the better. You can't be all the time alone in the library."

Elsa scowled. "I'm not always in the library, and lately I've been around a lot of people."

"Really?" Anna replied. "Could you tell me with whom and when?"

"Well..." Elsa hesitated for a second. "Five days ago, I played a chess match with Corrado"

Anna chuckled. "He is fifty-four years old! Is he the only person you can remember being with lately? Maybe you have to broaden your horizons." Anna asked the last phrase with mock solicitude.

"Enough Anna! I don't dislike the meeting you have planned. Actually, I think it is a good idea, but I have news that makes it impossible."

"What kind of news are you talking about?" Anna said looking at Elsa with suspicion. She feared an attempt to avoid the topic.

Elsa breathed deeply "About my weeding."

Anna gasped "I didn't know you were about to marry!" Anna looked at her sister in surprise and delight.

"Neither did I," Elsa replied with a bit of irony in her voice.

She took the letter that she had been reading when Anna entered in the library and give it to her sister. Anna had a quick look at the letter; it came from the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

"Elsa, you told me that you were discussing an issue with them, but I thought you had sent a letter to put an end to it," Anna asked confused.

"I believed that the first letter was an error, but this is his response."

"And?" Anna raised her eyebrows.

"They say that Arendelle needs a ruler"

"What does that mean? You're the Queen. You rule us"

"Both of us rule the country, but they believe that it is not enough. They fear that in the future, if I marry an enemy of England, the external relations of Arendelle would change according to my husband's inclinations. So they want to settle the issue now in a satisfactory way, at least for them." Elsa's tone was cold and detached, as if she was talking about an administrative affair.

"Elsa, this must be a joke. I can't believe it"

"If this is a joke, the British Secretary of State and the French ambassador in London are just too happy to play their parts, they both signed the petition."

"The French are also involved? Why? They never took any interest in us."

"I don't know why. We are blind. Since the death of our parents, the diplomacy of Arendelle had been neglected until we began to mend our diplomatic ties almost a year ago. "

"I'm sorry. I convinced you to center our efforts in the neighboring kingdoms in order to learn by experience before starting our contact with the great powers. "

"Don't blame yourself! It was a good idea the great powers had been ignoring us for years. Who could guess that they would make such a movement?" Elsa put a hand over Anna's shoulder. "Anyway, they are very interested now. I don't know why, but they should have a reason. Nobody bothers so much without a good reason. We have to discover why they are so worried about Arendelle and try to make an arrangement in the conference. But we don't have enough time."

"Conference! What conference?"

"Sorry Anna. I haven't told you yet. They have offered to hold a conference in Arendelle next summer to solve the issue. They say that suitors from all over Europe will flock to Arendelle with the good weather as news reach the other courts. So they, England and France, will come to an agreement acceptable for everybody. I'm not sure that this includes us."

"Are you going to accept that nonsense?"

"If we don't accept, they will hold the conference on their own in London or Paris and I suppose they will be kind enough to inform us in advance about who my husband will be before he arrives for the wedding." Elsa managed a brittle smile but her voice remained calm.

"Then ignore them. They can't force you to marry!" Anna replied fiercely.

"That's the point. They say that if Arendelle isn't guided by a trusted ruler; which, by the way neither you nor I are included in their definition of trusted rulers, they will assume that we are a menace to the balance of power in Europe."

"What are they talking about? They should be cra..." Anna interrupted.

"Let me finish. We would be a menace to the balance of powers in Europe, and then England and France will be forced to implement a commercial blockade. For starters" Elsa finished.

Both sisters look to each other for a moment. Anna took a chair and sat down. She was tired after the travel and this was too much for her. Elsa sat on the desk and continued. "You know what a blockade will mean to us. We can't produce enough food for our population. We sell wood and furs to buy food and other commodities that we need. A blockade will bring much suffering to our people."

"They won't dare" Anna's voice was seething with anger.

"The English attacked Copenhagen years ago. They felt it was a menace and they destroyed its fleet and nearly burned the city to the ground. You have to take account of the fact that the city of Copenhagen was far greater than Arendelle. So, raising a blockade if they feel the need? Surely that won't be a problem for them. They will forbid our ships to enter their harbors and the harbors of their allies, and they will also intercept any ship heading towards or coming from Arendelle. A thing like this will ruin our commerce and deplete our food stocks for the next winter."

Anna was beginning to feel dizzy. She tried to pull herself together. "But in your coronation nobody talked about the European Balance of Power. What has changed during this year? Why have they changed their minds so much?" Her voice shook, but she managed to stay calm.

"I don't know. We should find it out quickly. Meanwhile we must accept the conference and bide our time to make an agreement"

"This is humiliating"

"I agree, but we don't have any other options. If we can't trade we will lack food and other commodities. This winter children may suffer or die."

"Oh, Elsa this is terrible. I'm so sorry for you"

Elsa seemed uncomfortable. "There is one other thing."

"What thing? What more could they possibly want?" Anna looked up, her eyes flaming with anger.

"They..." Elsa stopped.

"They...what?" Suddenly, Anna started to get nervous.

Elsa leaned in and took Anna's hands. "They talk of two weddings to be decided. I told them in my letter that you were already engaged. But, they think yours is an engagement that can be changed for the good of the country. I'm... I'm sorry Anna, I tried to exclude you from this, but I couldn't..." Elsa's voice lowered while talking until it became difficult to hear the last phrase.

Anna remained still and silent for a long while.

"Anna?" Elsa asked eventually.

At that moment somebody knocked.

"Hello, are you in there?" The voice of Kristoff was unconcerned. To both sisters it seemed to come from another world.

Anna sprang to her feet. "Don't tell him anything." Anna whispered in Elsa's ear. "I will tell him later, \but I don't know how, yet."

"I was thinking the same about you this last week since I received the letter." Her sister replied.

"Come in Kristoff." Elsa said aloud.

"Hey girls." Kristoff said entering into the room. "Do you want dinner?"

"Of course. But first give me a kiss Kristoff. I've missed you so much!" Elsa beamed, leaving aside her worries, at her sister's enthusiasm at seeing her boyfriend.


	2. The Plains, the Empire and the Soldier

Colonel Joseph Hadik was looking through the window of his office. He had a good view of the city and its surroundings, but unfortunately the scenery was unremarkable. As far as the eye can see, low rolling hills covered the countryside, although the colonel's attention was centered on the incoming storm. A strong wind from the east, blown over the great plains and moved the grass to and fro like waves on a green sea. Hadik felt a profound dislike for this land the first time he had seen it, half a life ago. Too many friends and soldiers had vanished without a trace to change that feeling.

The door opened and Michael, his aide, entered in the room. "Sir, Captain Simonyi has just arrived. He is waiting to debrief you."

The colonel smiled "Let the Captain pass." The aide nodded and turned back. "Michael! Call the cuirassier but don't let him pass until I'm finished with captain Simonyi". The colonel said to the aide who was already in the adjacent room.

"Yes sir" Michael replied while the captain entered, closing the door behind him.

"Sir" The young captain saluted while striking his heels together.

Both soldiers wore the same hussar uniform, black from head to toe with a silver death's head displayed on their shakos, the regulation military caps. But this was the only similarity they shared. The colonel was a tall, heavily-built man in his late forties. He had fair skin and a blonde mustache over his clean shaven, square face.

The captain was a far younger man, in his middle twenties, slender and not as tall as his superior. His uniform was dirty, worn out, and repaired with leather patches. He took his shako off, exposing his unkempt hair black like a crow's wing and a little longer than usual, the usual being longer than regulation allowed. His face was unshaven and his skin, darkened from the steppe sun, was covered with dust around the eyes, the one area which had not been protected by the scarf or the cap during the travel across the plains. A great stain of dry blood covered his left trouser leg.

"Is that blood yours?" The colonel asked, looking at the officer's trousers.

"Oh no, it's from a tartar rider who was hanging on to me while bleeding to death."

"And you let him do it for so long that your entire trouser leg ended up soaked like that?" The colonel questioned, raising his eyebrows.

"Well Sir, I fear I was busy dealing with his companion," Simonyi answered.

"Obviously you and your men have had a hard trip. After you failed to show a week ago, there were people who started to think that we had seen the last of you. Sit down Erik and tell me what news you bring with you"

For more than an hour the captain reported about his mission. At the end, got to his feet. "With your permission, I will take..."

"Just a moment," Interrupted the colonel. "You have a visitor who is waiting for you. Michael, we have finished." The last phrase was told loud enough to be heard out of the room.

"A visitor?" The young man looked surprised. "What kind of visitor?"

"An important one," The colonel said softly while a tall man clad in a cuirassier guard uniform with a lieutenant insignia entered the room. His white uniform was immaculate as if he was ready to pass an inspection at the hands of the General Inspector from the imperial palace in Vienna.

Eric looked at his boots, they shone like mirrors. _Somebody spent a lot of time cleaning those boots,_ he thought.

The newcomer performed a perfect salute and looked around the room like he was searching for somebody, until he took notice of the captain epaulettes on Erik's shoulders; they were as faded and worn out as the rest of the uniform. The lieutenant barely managed to control his expression after his initial surprise. "Sir... Are you Captain Simonyi?" his voice suggested a real question instead of just a mere formality.

"Yes I am. And who are you?" The captain asked curtly while returning the salute. His voice stiffened when talking to the newcomer, clearly an official with the elegant manners of someone used to the courtly life of the Royal Palace in Vienna.

"Lieutenant von Leep, I carry a message from the imperial command headquarters addressed to you," The cuirassier produced an envelope while talking and handed it to its addressee.

The captain hesitated for a moment and eventually took the envelope very slowly, opening it and taking a long time to read its contents with care.

"So, I have to be in Arendelle in the middle of summer," he said at last.

"I have a ship waiting for us in Odessa. Sir, we are late. We should leave as quickly as possible, if I may, I'd like to arrange our departature for Odessa in three days. I assume at that time you'll manage to rest and sort out any unfinished business you may have in the city and the regiment."

The young captain gazed at the lieutenant without talking. Eventually the cuirassier broke the silence. "Sir, do you agree to my proposal?"

"No, I will go on my own. Notify the imperial command that I will be in Arendelle at the specified date."

"But sir... The orders say..." stammered the surprised officer.

"The orders says that I have to be in Arendelle at the middle of summer. It also gives me special permission to requisition any transport means I deem necessary to ensure that. There's nothing in the orders about how I am supposed to reach Arendelle, and I will be quicker on my own."

"But sir, the imperial delegation will depart from Vienna in a month."

"And I will meet them in Arendelle in the middle of summer." The captain's voice took the tone of a teacher repeating a lesson to a less than bright boy. "What's the problem?"

The lieutenant was confused and at a loss about how to act with this sudden turn of events. When he was assigned to the mission he had thought that it was a great opportunity to meet the son of a duke and give him an important mission, one that came directly from the Chancellor and would allow him to leave the barbaric and dangerous eastern frontier of the empire. The long trip would be a great opportunity to acquaint himself with the young scion and ensure a good contact for the future, when his star began to rise in the court as this mission suggested it would. But alas, after two weeks of travel crossing a vast plain full of nothing, and another two weeks waiting in this little wretched town, he had met that grim-faced and shabby officer who was talking nonsense.

The lieutenant turned towards the Colonel. "Sir, can you talk to the Captain in order to..."

"I'm sorry lieutenant but this issue is between the Captain and the imperial Command. I can't interfere in the way the Captain chooses to obey his orders."

The colonel had a warm dislike for all the non-hussar regiments of the army, he was not going to help the young cuirassier.

The lieutenant thought for a second until eventually he took a decision. "Well sir, if you don't need me I will take my leave."

"I don't need anything else. Thanks for bringing the message." Simonyi replied shortly.

The lieutenant left the room. The colonel laughed when the door closed behind him. "Goodness captain, you have made a friend today."

"Yes, Sir... Just one question, is Arendelle one of these little Norwegian kingdoms?"

The colonel burst out laughing. "If you don't know where is Arendelle how do you know you will be there in the middle of summer?"

"If it can be done with that courtier, I'm sure it can be done on my own."

"I have heard something about your dislike for the Court, but I never thought that it ran so deep. Anyway you are right, Arendelle is a Norwegian kingdom."

"One of those petty kingdoms with two or three valleys around a fiord?"

"In this case, it's even smaller than that. But it is a wealthy kingdom. They trade with timber, furs and things like that. It is located in the southern part of the Scandinavian peninsula on the west side, straight ahead of the English coast."

The colonel approached to a table full of maps took one of them and signaled the position of Arendelle. His subordinate approached and looked at the map. "So, if I depart from here," the young captain signaled a position near the north coast of the Black Sea. "I can cross the plains and the northern lands following the great river and reach the Baltic Sea. Then I could take a ship, one that could carry my horse, and disembark in the east shore of the Scandinavian peninsula." Erik thought for a second before he resumed making his plan. "Scandinavia is covered with mountains, in such a difficult terrain I will need local guides to pass through and be in Arendelle in the middle of summer."

"You are crazy. It's a longer trip and far more difficult than the one proposed by that green cuirassier. To top it all off, the imperial permission to seize vehicles will be useless in nearly all the lands you intend to travel across. Do you really want to cross the great plains alone? Are you out of your mind? Come spring they will be swarming with Tartars and Cossacks, hunting and herding parties; you'll be dead before you reach the Lithuanian forts on the frontier. It would be far easier taking that ship through the Black Sea to Venice and then a nice and pleasant boat trip to Vienna."

"The great plains are not a problem. I like them; it will be like when I was a scout all those years ago. I can make it, no need to worry about it," the captain smiled at the perspective.

Hadik looked at Erik despairingly. "Heavens, I had forgotten your fondness for this dammed land. It would be a pity if you got killed on this stupid trip when you are going to be a suitor to the pair of Arendelle."

"Suitor for what?" Erik asked with surprise.

"To the Queen of Arendelle and her sister! All the courts of Europe are talking about it. Haven't you heard anything? A year ago, she was called the "snow queen". Do you remember? There was even a song about her and who was going to thaw her heart!"

The young captain thought for a second "I remember a song my men sang about the snow queen during a march. But I can't remember any details about it, I never paid much attention to it. But I'm sure her heart wasn't the part of the body they were interested to thaw."

"It is the only possibility that justifies your transfer, as the son of a Duke you are a good choice as a suitor; and being half Norwegian sure didn't hurt your chances." The colonel was getting excited with the perspectives for his subordinate.

"Yes sir, my mother was Norwegian, but she died during my birth and I've never been to Norway," the captain's voice was unconvinced.

But Hadik continued with his argument. "Anyway, it is a good reason to call you. Now I'm sure you will be one of the suitors. For the princess I suppose, since your brother will try the queen."

"I suppose Adrian will be in Arendelle too," Erick grimaced at the mention of his elder stepbrother.

"He is rumored to be a suitor for the Queen. Two sisters, two brothers, the numbers match," the colonel smiled. "Rumors say that they are real beauties."

"They would say this even if they were two monsters covered with blue freckles." replied the captain with indifference.

"You don't seem especially happy with the prospect," the colonel looked puzzled.

"Truth to be told, I'm not excited with it."

"What can you expect from a man that likes the plains?" The colonel snarled. "Anyway, a marriage like this is a great chance for your career, something any officer would dream about. And speaking of your career, before you leave I want to tell you that I'm going to send my personal request to the Inhaber of the regiment for your immediate promotion to first captain."

Thank you Sir! Erick couldn't help an expression of surprise and satisfaction crossing over his face. The Inhaber of the regiment was the man who funded the needs of the regiment and had the last word on promotions.

"I hope this will assure your return as quickly as possible, even if your match with the princess doesn't happen as it should. Being a first captain you are going to command a quarter of the regiment. Do you feel you are capable of this?"

"Of course I am Sir."

"Then go; honor the reputation of the regiment and return to us, married or unmarried," the last words were told with desperation. "When will you depart?"

"Tomorrow sir, early in the morning."

"Tomorrow, so early?"

"Yes sir, if I have to be in Arendelle, I may need every day to arrive in time."

"Well then, I wish you the best. And be sure to pack your dress uniform; you'll need to look sharp, and everybody knows all the ladies have a soft spot for our jackets; the hussar's dolman," the colonel said, shaking hands with Erik.

The young captain was about to leave the room when turned back. "Excuse me colonel, may I ask you a last question?"

"Of course you can." Hadik replied looking at his subordinate with curiosity.

"Why are the Imperial Court and the whole Europe so interested in Arendelle? It is a petty kingdom, wealthy but insignificant and too far from Vienna."

"The English are behind this. I suppose the reason is that Arendelle's superb harbor and its position, is one of the Scandinavian ports nearest to the English coast. It is an excellent place to launch a full-scale invasion, and you know how the British usually reacts when a threat like that arises. They'll make sure Arendelle's not a threat, and I suppose marrying the Queen to an acceptable suitor is the easiest way... "

"I see" Erik replied while trying to remember all the information about Norway he had learned in his days as diplomat, more than seven years ago. "But there are a lot of other good harbors with good positions and they don't care as much."

"You are right, they have something in mind but I don't have the slightest idea," Hadik shrugged while talking.

Erik left the colonel's office thinking about his travel to Arendelle. Seven years after the confrontation with Adrian and his voluntary service in the eastern frontier, his Highness Great Duke Adrian Simonyi has once more forced his way into his life and Erik feared that trouble would come in his wake. He tried to forget the entire issue and mentally began to make a list with all the things he'd need.

"What a crazy journey I am going to make," He said to himself. "But it sure will be better than sharing a long trip with Adrian and I will enjoy crossing the plains on my own again." The young man smiled at the thought.

Anyway, if he really was supposed to leave the city tomorrow morning, a lot of things had to get done. His clothes needed to be washed, probably mended once again, and he should throw a farewell party for his fellow junior officers that night. They could go to that tavern by the river; the waitress there had a brazen gaze and the last time he had been drinking there with his companions she had cast casual glances at him.

Suddenly Erik saw a flash of lightning on the horizon.

The storm had started.

H.N (Historic Note): A **Proprietor**, or **Inhaber**, was a term used in the Habsburg military to denote special honors extended to a noble or aristocrat. The Habsburg army was organized on principles developed for the feudal armies in which regiments were raised by a wealthy noble, called the _Inhaber_ (proprietor) who also acted as honorary colonel. Originally, he raised the regiment, funded its needs, and received a portion of its revenue, which might be plunder or loot. He also shared in its shame or its honors. The Imperial Russian military adopted a similar system. (Excerpt from wikipedia).


	3. Scandinavia and the King

When Konrad entered the maps room, his brother Stephan was already there. It was not surprising; he usually spent the better part of the day in that room. Konrad might be the King, but Stephan was the engine of the kingdom. From this room, he handled all the nuisances that needed to be resolved to keep the kingdom going.

The light of the sun entered through the great paneled windows. It was a beautiful day; outside the air was filled with the scent of spring. But inside the room it smelled the same all year long. The multitude of maps that covered its walls and the books on the shelves gave this room a special scent. Usually Konrad did not notice it as he also spends a lot of time here. But the contrast with such a beautiful day made him feel it.

"Good morning," Konrad said.

"Good morning Konrad. We have news from England," his younger brother replied, sitting at his desk while sun beams illuminated the document he was reading.

"What kind of news?"

"News about Arendelle and it is very interesting."

"Arendelle! Is it a clue about their intentions?" Konrad asked excited.

"More than that, one of our contacts got access to confidential information regarding a conversation between Lord Howard Halkett and the foreign secretary. They want Elsa as far away as possible."

"Is Lord Halkett going to be the English representative at the Arendelle conference?"

"Everything seems to indicate that."

"He is sympathetic to us, but those plans are a confirmation of our fears. It will be difficult to get the English to agree to join both crowns," Konrad said with sorrow.

"I guess so. Your claim to Queen Elsa's hand has been a waste of time and effort. You should search for a wife somewhere else."

"I suppose you are right, but we have staked so much on this! Far more than just the woman who will share my bed!" Konrad thought for a second. "Perhaps they may be convinced to allow my marriage with Queen Elsa in order to control her."

"A year ago, when the Queen froze and thawed the entire fjord in Arendelle at will, alerts were raised in London," Stephan replied with a tired voice. "You should understand their concerns! Imagine a French fleet installed in Arendelle. The Queen might close the fiord with ice and create storms to destroy the English fleet should they try to control the French, and the English coast is so close. Once the English fleet was destroyed, or too far away to avoid her storms, Elsa could thaw the fiord and stop the storms. The French fleet could choose the best point to invade England. They want the Queen away." Stephan finished.

"What about the faction in the English parliament that gives support to a unified Norway? Lord Halkett belongs to it. And they trust us. What is their position in this affair?" Konrad asked with a bit of hope in his voice.

"That faction gives support to the idea of a unified Norway because they feel that it will be easier to control a united Norway instead of a lot of little kingdoms, with each one having an opportunity to make a pact with the French. If we had a central, unified capital they would need only a fleet to control it. That saves money and effort. Throw Elsa in the mix and this is all moot. She is dangerous enough in Arendelle let alone in a unified Norway," Stephan replied.

"If both crowns join we could use Arendelle's wealth. We could start the foundations for a future Norwegian Kingdom".

"I wouldn't bother with it. Tell me, have you any news from Paris?" Stephan asked his brother.

"Our network in France is small, and the French are just reacting to the English interest in Arendelle. They are not as involved; they just want to keep the English from gaining an advantage. Their position is not as clear, and as such it is more difficult to know what they are planning to do," Konrad's face was grim while telling it.

"Have they decided who will represent France?" Stephan inquired.

"Christian Mullon, he was officially confirmed yesterday."

"He is a young man, his appointment is surprising. Has he had any contact with the timber business?" Stephan had an absent expression on his face while asking. His mind was obviously far away trying to remember everything he knew about Mullon.

"No, perhaps he wants to get involved in it. We should play our cards carefully with the French if we want to marry the Queen of Arendelle."

"That's a dangerous option," Stephan said, returning abruptly to the real world.

"I know; if we too obviously side with the French we can lose our English allies," Konrad nodded nervously while talking.

"What about the suitors? Is there any news about who will come to Arendelle?" Stephan asked.

"I am afraid that news on this subject is not good. The Imperials are going to get involved."

"Imperials? Do you mean Vienna? What business do they have in Arendelle?" Stephan's voice sounded almost offended at the undesired and unexpected interference.

"I'm not sure, but there's a rumor going around that they will try to marry both of them with an Imperial. The suitor for Elsa would be a Hungarian duke."

"It will be a complete disaster if the Empire establishes a foothold in Norway. They'll block our efforts," Stephan pointed out. "Do you have any more good news like that?" He concluded sarcastically.

"Sort of. The English candidate will be Von Shrader, the Prussian Count." Konrad raised his eyebrows saying that.

"That crazy fool. Less powerful but closer; we will have the same problem with him. Whom does he want to marry, Elsa or Anna?"

"That is the funny part, he will marry either one of them. He prefers Elsa but he will marry Anna if he can't get the elder sister."

"I shouldn't be surprised, with this crazy Prussian anything is possible. And the French candidate, do you have any sign of which decision they will take?"

"It will be Mullon's decision and I don't have the slightest hint about it."

"Everything would have been easier if Anna had been the queen," Stephan said.

"Why? If there were one bride instead of two there'd still be the same number of suitors. The English would still try marrying Princess Anna with somebody that suits them. Even if Queen Elsa wasn't the Queen, she would be just as dangerous!" Konrad said.

"Not if she was dead. They want Elsa far away and I think that the afterlife is far enough to satisfy them. They don't care who rules in Arendelle. Whoever marries the Queen of Arendelle will become a local issue again, and our previous arrangement of trusted partners would be restored. These external powers aren't mighty enough or are too far away to impose their suitors on their own without English support. Even if Anna had the opportunity to choose who would be her husband it might come from a minor Norwegian power, and then we could put pressure on them," Stephan explained.

"I see. It's a pity that Hans failed when he tried to kill the elder sister. Speaking of Hans, where did you leave him?" Konrad asked.

"He spends his days in the old fortress since you put me in charge of him," Stephan said in a cold tone.

"The old fortress..." Konrad walked to the great paneled window which looked out to the sea, and gazed through the glass towards the distant horizon. There, to the south, lay the little islands which were the ancestral seat of their dynasty. From there, his ancestors had taken the control of the nearby shores and built a kingdom, the kingdom that was still named the Kingdom of the Southern Isles, or just Southern Isles as a reminder of the origin of the dynasty.

Konrad thought about the old fortress, the first fortress of the dynasty, the place where its kings were still crowned. It was an old, grim, and stark place. Centuries ago, the founder of the dynasty was a Norse warlord more concerned about the defensive attributes of the building than for its aesthetics. For several generations his gentler descendants had tried to renovate it as a palace, but the old building resisted all attempts to a change of its former role. At the end, when the territory inland was far more important than the islands, a new palace was built and a new capital, Westergard, was raised around it. But the old fortress, with all its traditions, remained out at sea, on the edge of the horizon, only visible on clear days.

"You left your own brother in that old and crumbling ruin for a whole year? You are merciless," Konrad said at last, smiling.

"It's the same amount of time you've let pass without paying him a visit, or showing any interest in his wellbeing; or are you playing the invisible brother as we used to when we were kids?" Stephan replied with heavy sarcasm.

Konrad laughed at his brother remonstrations." You're right, it is time to pay him a visit. I'm sure he will have a lot of useful information about Arendelle and its charming rulers. He had control of the realm for almost two days," Konrad strode towards the door while saying that.

"What about the conference? Are you going to contact the French?" Stephan asked while sitting at his desk once again.

"If the English don't give us an option I will try it."

Stephan scowled. "It would be dangerous. The English could find out about our movements."

But Konrad had already left the room leaving Stephan alone with his documents.


	4. France and the Grandee of Spain

Lady d'Arvanville, Madam Gonzaga after her marriage, was elated for the first time in years. In fact she had not been so moved since her wedding, more than twenty years ago, the day she had married a Spanish duke. The day she had joined one of the oldest dynasties in Europe. The day she had become the wife of a Spanish Grandee with the privilege to sit down in the presence of the Spanish king. The day she had been imprisoned in a jail, a jail so well constructed that only significance of the death of his husband was that the jail was left without jailer. But she remained inside anyway, trapped in that odious country surrounded by those odious people with her poor son.

But today was different, her cousin Christian was coming to pay her a visit. They had both spent long summers together at her father's chateau in their childhood. He had been almost like a brother to her, almost and more. A long time has passed and they had gone different ways. She was in her dukedom seat and Christian had become a rising star in French diplomacy. He was only thirty seven years old, but had been chosen as the French delegate in the Arendelle affair, before older and more experienced men.

And he needed her; Christian had sent a letter asking for an appointment. They had agreed to meet in a small possession of the dukedom, in a little volcanic region by the Pyrenees near the French frontier. She had been unaware of the existence of this little palace, it had taken Pedro's intervention to remind her of that forgotten place, so horrible as the rest of the duchy scattered through Spain.

She thought for a moment about Pedro; he was a clever and resourceful man. Maybe he was too clever. He had proposed the place for the meeting after he heard a conversation between D'Arbanville and her son. Later, after waiting two weeks for Christian's reply, she had discovered that it was the home of Pedro's family. She didn't trust Pedro but he was the only person able to calm down her son.

In that moment somebody knocked at the door, the voice of her personal maid came through. "Madam Gonzaga, the guests are arriving."

She heard noises from the courtyard and went to the window. The French delegation was entering, at the head was a tall man with chestnut hear. He dismounted and handed his horse to a servant while talking with him. Christian always was gentle with everybody, a quick word with a servant, a courtesy to a maiden, and he remembers every face, and every comment to bring up in the future, letting everyone feel like they are special. D'Arbanville remembered that that was one of his more charming traits. Christian was now crossing the courtyard, heading towards the main gate where Andres, the seneschal, was waiting. Christian saluted him as if he was an old acquaintance. She wondered when they could have met before and realized that the only possibility was her wedding day almost twenty years ago.

D'Arbanville left the window and went to the main hall of the building. In a normal palace it would have been just a room for small meetings, but in this deplorable building it would be used for the reception. When she entered Christian and the seneschal were already awaiting her. They were talking, and even the seneschal, that ugly man that always behaved like he was at his own funeral, had a faint smile in his face that disappeared when the lady came in.

"Monsieur Christian Mullon," Andres announced in his usual stark way.

Christian's face was not handsome; it was too long and his hair was a little bit thin but his smile overcame all these defects. The devil would have envied that smile. She had not seen him for more than ten years, and she still remembered his smile and how he used it to get anything he wanted. He had a slight limp, caused by an old wound from his service in the Marine nationale, but he moved with a graceful elegance.

"Madam D'Arbanville." Christian said, bowing and waving his hat. That was incorrect; she was Madam Gonzaga since her marriage; D'Arbanville was her father's family name, but she could not help feeling delighted.

"Monsieur Mullon," She formally replied to his salute. "Leave us alone." She ordered to the seneschal.

He left the room, slowly as he did not approve that the lady was alone with for a visit, followed by D'Arbanville's suspicious glance

"Elise, looking at you is like seeing a part of my youth. You bring me summer memories of your father's chateau. The time has not passed in your presence." Christian told smiling when they were alone. In fact, Christian was really surprised; they had not seen for ten years, but she was still a strikingly beautiful woman. Her straight, long hair had retained the jet black color of their youth and her intense gaze reflected her willpower and intelligence.

"But it has passed anyway. I am glad to see you Christian, it's been a long time ago since your last visit," She replied smiling and offering her right hand.

He leaned in taking the offered hand and kissed it. All was done slowly, as if repeating an old ritual from long ago and half forgotten. Both looked into each other eyes for a moment with Christian still holding her hand.

She removed her hand slowly. "Yes, ten years is a long time."

"Dear cousin I had my duties as a diplomat. It is difficult to pay you a visit at the main seat of your dukedom, as it is a little far away from anywhere."

"It did not seem to be so far away at the beginning, but at least you have come," She said with satisfaction.

"You accepted his proposal, do you remember? Anyway the past is in the past, France needs you now," Christian finished, changing the subject of the conversation.

"My son and I, since we are talking about his wedding," She pointed out.

"Of course, your son is also involved," Christian accepted. "It is a great opportunity for him. He will marry the Queen of a wealthy country."

"He is a Spanish Grandee, the honor is for the petty Queen of that small country. I also have my spys my dear cousin. Arendelle is little more than a small town," She finished scornfully.

"Don't judge Arendelle by Spanish standards, it has a commerce net that could compete with some of your great harbors," Christian replied.

"Why do you care so much? It is a minor issue."

"It is not a minor issue, the English want to control Arendelle. It could be the perfect location to launch an invasion on British soil. For the same reason, France needs a trusted ruler in Arendelle. A ruler sympathetic to France when a new war between both countries break out."

"Will there be war between France and England?" She asked in surprise.

"Of course there is going to be! Both countries have been at war since the middle ages, it is only a matter of time."

D'Arbanville thought for a moment. "I don't believe you Christian," She stated curtly, though displaying a delightful smile.

Christian was puzzled by the sudden reply. "What do you mean?"

"My father contacted me, after more than five years without any word, explaining this wonderful story of yours and asking me to be loyal to my country. He only agreed to mediate a meeting between you and I when I forced him," she kept on smiling while explaining.

"And?" Christian gazed at her with suspicion.

"My father would never help you to convince me of anything unless he had something at stake, something very important. If he agreed to act in your behalf, he is at some advantage."

"Elise you are speaking nonsense; I was simply very busy with the details of the conference in Arendelle, and your father was kind enough to contact you and..."

"I wish you good journey on your return Christian," She interrupted abruptly.

"Excuse me?" Christian asked, his eyes wide opened.

"If you are not going to tell me the truth, all this talking is useless. I think it is better to put an end to it," D'Arbanville went on, and for a moment Christian really felt in the summers of as he did in his youth, when they both were young and bold, and he understood that this was for her.

"Timber." He said at last.

"What?" She was momentarily taken aback.

"Arendelle is one of the greatest suppliers of timber in Europe. In its nearly unhabited inland lay great forests of the best quality. After the last war, France lost nearly all its war ships. We are rebuilding them and we need timber. France had great reserves, but they are nearly exhausted, so we are forced to import timber from the Scandinavian countries. I don't trust the English. This story of being threatened by Arendelle is a feint to control one of our most important timber supplies. We cannot accept that; the reconstruction of our navy depends on the timber supply from the north," Christian explained.

"And my father is involved in this," she stated.

"Oh course. He is one of the greatest naval builders in France, his shipyards are working all day with timber from the north. If your son marries Queen Elsa his agents will be free to enter in Arendelle and take all the timber we need."

"So, this is why he contacted me instead of leaving the nuisance of convincing me to you. He is going to earn a lot of money. How kind of you to be so eager to pay me a visit after more than ten years," She concluded with a barely disguised sneer.

"As I told you before the past is in the past. Are you going to help us? " He asked.

"Of course I am going to help you, if you accept my conditions."

"What are these conditions?"

"My son will have his share of the timber business."

"I will have to discuss that with your father."

"Talk with him then. Another point, Elias and I will go to Arendelle with you."

"Why? I could handle it by my own and Elsa would come to Spain to get married."

"I want to see her first. I want to be sure that she deserves to marry my son."

"Elise, She is a Queen..." Christian raised a hand to stop the incoming interruption. "I know, he is a Grandee." Christian thought for a second. "I want to see the boy."

"His name is Elias. Why do you want to see him?"

"I want to see if he is fit to marry the Queen of Arendelle."

"Why wouldn't he be? He is a Spanish Grandee."

"Elise, there's a rumor going round that..."

"Whatever you have heard it is exaggerated."

"Well, then I just want to meet your son. He is the son of a childhood friend, almost a sister. What's wrong with it?" He smiled as an old friend.

Lady D'Arbanville got up and gestured to Christian to follow her. They went through the castle until they reached a small garden. It was a beautiful and peaceful place with good views of the valley. A young man in his early twenties was sitting on a stone bench. He was handsome, with his mother's dark hair and elongated face. His hazel eyes were staring into space with emotionless expression.

"Hello Elias, Uncle Christian has come at last to see you," Lady D'Arbanville said. The boy ignored her and carried on looking to a distant point.

"Hello Elias." When Christian spoke the boy turned to face him with an absent expression. Christian went on talking. "Do you know why I am here?"

"Yes, because I am going to marry a Queen." Elias spoke slowly as if he was uncertain about what he was talking about.

Christian paused for a second, the boy seemed so fragile. "Well, do you feel strong enough to travel to that country? It is a long trip."

Elias gave him a puzzled look. "Trip? What..."

"Pedro, take Elias out for a walk" Elias' mother said to a young man, clad in a dark green uniform of the mounted lancers, standing in a corner of the garden. Pedro moved forward and took Elias along with him. Christian followed Elias with his eyes while the young man walked away.

The lancer had a thin and bony face framed by long black air with an aquiline nose and intense dark eyes that gazed without fear at Lady d'Arbanville. _The only servant, other than Andres, who isn't afraid of Elise,_ Christian thought while watching the tall, slender man with curiosity.

"He got sick and the fever affected his mind. He has the mentality of a thirteen years old," D'Arbanville explained to Christian.

"I see. And do you want him to marry?"

"Of course I do. He was normal before the fever, so he can have healthy children. Children that will inherit the dukedom," D'Arbanville said with decision.

"You want this child to father a son? Are you sure that he would know what to do with a woman?" Christian couldn't help saying that in an ironic tone of voice.

"Mind your own business," The woman's reply was cold as ice. "I will not allow my brother-in-law to inherit the dukedom. The dukedom will remain with my descendants. I have not suffered so much in this dirty country to leave everything to such rabble."

"All right, I will talk with your father, and you and Elias can come with me to Arendelle."

"Thank you Christian." Lady D'Arbanville smiled, kissed Christian on the cheek, and left the garden taking Elias along.

Christian stayed in the garden for a moment pondering. The issue had been easier than expected, D'Arbanville, that old miser, would hand over part of the profits, but he will keep the better part. Having them come to Arendelle was a nuisance, but it was an acceptable one. He doubted if the boy was a good choice. In the end he decided that being mentally retarded might be an argument in his favor for the English. Anyway, it's not like anybody was going to take into account Queen Elsa's preferences.


	5. England, Prussia and Two Friends

The sea was calm. A slight breeze blew over the still water while the little boat approached to the beautiful frigate anchored in the middle of the harbor. The white ensign, a white banner with the St. George cross and a union jack in the upper quarter, flew from the top of the frigate bow.

The boat approaching to the frigate was manned by twelve men, in the bow a man was sitting on a chair with a glass of wine . He was in his late fifties and had his right foot bandaged and resting over the board of the boat. He was a tall man with broad shoulders and a belly even bigger. His long black air fell over his shoulders in out of fashion braids and a long mustache hanged from his upper lip until almost her chest. He was dressed in hussar uniform, but his fat figure looked strange in the light cavalry uniform usually worn by younger and more athletic men.

Two young men were also in the boat, both dressed as civilians. One was in the stern looking at the frigate, the other was on the bow talking with the older man. Both were tall , broad shouldered and more athletic than their seated companion.

The man by the chair, stroked her thick black hair while talking with the older man. "They didn't like that you asked to marry either of the Arendelle pair." While talking, he inspected the frigate with a pair of cold, gray eyes. the gray was so light that the iris was almost colorless. A long scar crossed the left cheek of the man's face, giving him a grim expression.

The old man cleared his throat and spit over the board before talking. "Hypocrites! Otto, Why should be a problem bidding for the second best horse If you can't get the best in an auction."

"Uncle Friedrich! Queen Elsa and Princess Anna aren't horses." Said the young man in a toneless voice.

"Of course! And the English and you worry so much about hurting the ladies' feelings." The seated man roared with laughter saying that. "Now, you are the hypocrite. You have been too much time with the English my dear nephew."

"You have been fighting for them half of your life, I supposed you have developed some affection towards them."

"Towards some of them, you can be sure of that." For a second his joking manner evaporated and his voice was curt. "But when you negotiate with them, they don't have enemies nor friends only interests, which is a good starting point to meet an agreement." Completed the old man in his usual flippant way.

"Will they support our claim to queen Elsa's hand?"

"If they believe that we are the best option, why not?" Friedrich shrugged, saying that.

"And will they believe that?"

"Depends on what options they found at the conference. This is an international meeting think of it as an auction in a Turkish slave market, but with less reliable people." The old hussar smiled wryly.

"Isn't it precious?" Shouted the young man on the bow with delight, signaling the English frigate, and turning towards them while talking. He wore a thick black beard, and had a broad smile. "Isn't it a princess of the seas?"

Otto looked at the ship with upset. "I don't understand why they choose a war ship to make the travel. A good brigantine would have been more comfortable and faster.

"Because sir Howard Halkett believes that diplomacy is a silk glove over a steel gauntlet, and he wants to be sure that the rulers of Arendelle feel the cold of the steel. A sign of the cannons of the frigate will remember them why they should accept the result of the meeting."

"The English are the best ship builders of the world." Interrupted again the man on the bow.

"You are right Kurt, but they didn't built this ship." The old Hussar replied teasing.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked in surprise.

"They seized this frigate from the French in the last war." The old man replied in a cheerful mood, then turned towards Otto and added softly. "The French will feel the cold of the gauntlet also."

"Well, they captured this ship with a ship made by the English anyway." Kurt stated smiling from the stern. He turned and started to wave to the ship.

Otto looked at Kurt with disdain. The old man gave a little laugh. "You are so different as only two brothers can be." He said with a smile in his face.

"Why have you asked him to come with us? He is useless in a negotiation of this kind."

"He isn't so bad negotiator as you think, but his style is different than yours.

Otto looked at his uncle with a dubious expression. "I don't believe you. I'm sure you have another reason to bring Kurt with us."

"Well. Another reason is that he is a personal friend of Allan Halkett the nephew of the English representative, is this enough for you?".

Otto shook his head. He was going to say something when his uncle interrupted him. Look! we are arriving, Ask for a rope to lift me up."

Lord Howard Halkett was captain's cabin looking a map of Europe. He leaned forward, pulling all his weight on both hands on the table. The door flung open, and his younger brother, Collin Halkett, clad in its red uniform of British infantry colonel, entered into the room without knocking.

Both brothers were utterly different. The elder was a gaunt man of average height with a long rectangular face and sandy hair, his stark manner was reflected in his cold blue eyes. Collin Halkett was a rather corpulent man, a little bit too corpulent for his average size, the only resemblance between both brothers. His round face and easy smile were framed by balding red hair.

"Friedrich Von Schrader is coming." He said in a cheerful mood.

"I have seen him from the bridge." Said the older brother without raising his gaze from the map. I also see that you are eager to see him." Howard took a pencil and write a note in a paper by the map.

"It has been a long time since we met. We fought together in the King's German Legion all the wars against France. I want to see that old walrus again." Collin clicked his tongue. "We are getting older and it may be our last opportunity to get drunk together." He looked at the open envelope on the table. "Had the courier who reached us entering in the port brought any news from Arendelle?"

Howard raised his gaze from the map and look at his brother."He brought Queen Elsas's reply to our notification that we are controlling the commerce of Arendelle in order to don't allow them to accumulate food. Since we are menacing Arendelle with a blockade, there is no point in allowing them to accumulate large stocks of food."

"And what has she replied?"

"She expresses her surprise for such words from a friendly country and states that Arendelle accumulates food at autumn, when the harvest starts. She expects this issue will have been solved to everybody's satisfaction by then, and England won't interfere with Arendelle provisions for winter."

"It is not a bad reply for a twenty two years old girl. She replies to our bullying without committing herself." Said Collin with an appraising look.

"That's right" Replied Howard with a grim expression in his face. He was going to add something, but there was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Said Howard.

A young man in his last twenties entered into the room. "Hello uncle Howard, Hello uncle Collin. We have already loaded water and fresh food. As soon as von Schrader has come on board, we'll depart immediately". He was tall and hefty, with a handsome rectangular long face like his uncle Howard, strong jaw and sandy blonde hair. His blue eyes shone with security.

"Perfect Allan, thank you for handling everything so quickly. It is not easy to arrive at a port an depart so early, but we have to arrive to Arendelle as quick as possible. I want to talk with the French delegate before the beginning of the meetings." Said Howard.

"Don't worry, it have been a good test for my men." Replied Allan.

"Well Captain. " Said Collin. "How do you feel after your first journey as captain of the frigate."

"Great! But I would feel far better if my first travel had been with the fleet that is going to deal with the Chinese."

"Don't worry." Replied his uncle Howard. " You will have plenty of time to catch them up when we finish the Arendelle issue."

"Sincerely, I don't understand why is so important that I'm in Arendelle. I would be more useful with the fleet."

"This ship is faster than the fleet. You will join them before they reach the Indian Ocean, and fight anyway in the war against the Chinese. Here you may learn some valuable lessons."

"Uncle Howard, in the Indian Ocean we are conquering a Continent, half India is under our control and China comes next. Arendelle is just a little town. I don't understand why England is spending so much time and efforts to marry the Queen or the Princess of Arendelle with that old and unpleasant man."

"Because France can use the timber from Arendelle to build a fleet, and its harbor combined with the queen's abilities to invade us."

"Come on, uncle! You have already explained that to me and You haven't convinced me. We already crushed them in the last war."

"Allan, the English army is far smaller than the French army." Replied Howard Halkett.

"We didn't win the last war alone. The other European powers also fought the French." Added Collin.

"England is an island and relies in the navy to protect itself. I mean that our army is not the main priority, and our population is much smaller than the French population. In the last war the French army was four times bigger than ours. If the French used the powers of that girl to nullify the navy, our best card, disembark one of their huge armies in England would be easy. It may be the end for us. Our allies in the continent would sit and enjoy the show, and anything we have conquered in the Indian ocean will be pretty useless. In Arendelle we are going to decide the political situation in the Norwegian petty kingdoms for the next two or three decades. They are our closest neighbors on the other side of the north sea, therefore they are important enough. "

"But uncle, we are raising an empire, so great that it will provide far more resources for a war than England itself."

"Maybe in the future, but now and in our lifetime the fate of England will be decided in Europe by European resources and threads." Argued Howard with a bit of passion in his voice."Allan, it is the duty of the diplomacy to ensure that our navy and army will have the best possible positions if we go to war. If this implies that I have to marry those girls from Arendelle with the Turkish sultan, I will spend the necessary time and resources to get it. And I think it will be pretty instructive for you to see how things like this are arranged. Have I been clear enough ?"

"In this case I hope they enjoy the harem's life." Interrupted Collin Halkett. He strode to the door. "I am going to receive the old and unpleasant man. Allan, remember that he had fought for England in dark days." He walked out slamming the door behind him.

"Your uncle is very loyal to his friends. I recommend you to restrain your comments about the Prussian." Said Allan's uncle.

"This is the reason because you are supporting his claim to Queens Elsa's hand."

"No, he is a trusted ally, personal friend of the Prussian King and the leader of the pro-English faction in his court, not to mention that he had a good deal of contacts in the English parliament, and controls some of the bigger fleets that feed with timber our shipyards. All of them are good reasons to give support to his claim, but I'm going to get the best pact for England. If I had to choose another option, I would do it. And your uncle is fully aware of that whatever may be his personal preferences."

"He is rather overfond of the Prussians, I understand that he remained as Colonel in spite of your contacts." Said Allan with a smirk on his face.

"Someday you will know about your uncle's whereabouts, but now prepare our departure, and make a warm reception to your friend Kurt." Allan smiled at such words and strode towards the door.

When Kurt reached the deck of the frigate a ensign addressed to him. "The captain Halkett ask for your presence in the quarterdeck."

"Captain Halkett?" Said Kurt surprised. He turned towards his uncle.

"Go Kurt, go." Said the old hussar, hanging from the rope that was lifting him from the boat to the deck. "As you can see time had not been gentle with me Collin. When we were young we jumped over enemy trenches and now I need a rope just to go on board." Said von Shrader talking with Collin Halkett who was looking the odd maneuver.

"If you hadn't drunk like a Russian cossack and ate like a French noble, you wouldn´t have developed gout." Replied Collin Halkett, with a broad grin on his round face.

Kurt followed the junior officer through the deck which was humming with the activity of the sailors preparing the ship to depart. Kurt can't help stopping in the middle of the deck and look upwards to see the veteran sailors unfurling the sails.

"Sir?" Said the ensign obviously uncomfortable with a guest under his responsibility standing in the middle of the deck.

"Oh, sorry. Let's go" Replied Kurt following him and looking at the unfolding sails.

His old friend was on the bridge checking the ships maneuver. The sight of Allan made Kurt feel uncomfortable. They haven't seen each other for five years and Kurt feared to meet a stranger. The ensign saluted and Allan turned to face his old friend. They stared each other for a moment, it had been a long time since Alan's departure to the East Indies as a frigate lieutenant. Eventually they shook hands.

"I received your last letter before I left Bombay." Said Allan, looking at his old friend from head to foot.

"And I received your gift from India. Thank you, it is wonderful."

"I supposed you would like it, it comes from a crumbling ruin." Both men laughed at the joke.

"It is a wonderful sculpture, but how do you move it. It is quite heavy!"

"It was in a temple by the sea. When I saw it, I remembered you taking me to all the old Norman stone castles in Yorkshire, regardless how ruinous they were." Allan said the last phrase simulating an angry look. "And I decided to send something from the temple to you."

Kurt smiled, remembering the years passed in England, in the House of Allan's uncle."Well, these were good years." Kurt looked around."Congratulations!. It is not usual to be Captain of a frigate at the age of twenty eight."

"It is not so strange, if you take into account that I started as midshipman in my uncle's ship at the age of twelve, although it is only an old ship taken from the French in the last war. Anyway I'm going to do great things with it. There will be plenty of opportunities in the Chinese rebellion."

"Rebellion? Do you refer to the conflict with the Chinese? It is a war since they are an independent empire. "

"It is a rebellion, but they still don't know it. When we finish this petty issue regarding Arendelle we will teach them to accept it."

Kurt smiled at his friend vehemence. " You haven't changed at all. The whole of Europe is looking to Arendelle and you call it a petty issue. Not to mention the queen and princes of Arendelle who are going to be married, I doubt that they describe this unpleasant situation as petty."

Allan shrugged his shoulders. "Regarding this unpleasant situation, why are you here? I may be wrong, but I think it is not your usual kind of negotiations."

"You are right. I dislike the whole issue, but my uncle ordered me to come."

"Why does he want you here?"

"I don't know. Otto has been trying to find the real reason out, but he only gets vague responses."

"Why has your uncle become involved in this affair? I'm sure that he hasn't begun to feel amorous."

"He hasn't. I'm sure of that." Replied Kurt smiling."The wealth of Arendelle, Prussia is struggling with The empire for the control of the German confederation, a lot of petty kingdoms placed between France and Prussia from the Baltic to the Alps. The one who prevail will be the core of a unified Germany. They need huge amounts of money to maintain their influence over the German Confederation, and Arendelle could provide a good deal."

"Well". Said Allan patting his friend's shoulder. "Despite your unwillingness to come, I will enjoy your company in this short travel to Arendelle. Wait a minute!" Alan gave an order to one of the ensigns, and the young officer left immediately. Alan went on speaking with Kurt. "I have so many things to explain to you while we enjoy the travel, and I have been told that the scenery of the Scandinavian coast is impressive."

"Regarding to the Scandinavian coast, may we made a brief stop on the way?" Asked Kurt.

Allan looked to the sky and took a deep breath. "Tell me, what old ruin do you want to see?"

"You catch me! In our way to Arendelle we pass the Southern Isles kingdom."

"Yes, and?"

"In one island near the shore, in fact the main island, there is one of the first fortress build by the kingdom's dynasty. "

"And?"

"Come on! It has more than four centuries! I have been told that some silly kings of the southern isles tried to transform it in a palace, but it still remains as a Norse warlord castle."

"You are hopeless. We are on a diplomatic mission with the eyes of half Europe over us, and you want to make a stop to visit an old castle."

"It will last only a few hours. Don't you have to make a stop to make a routine maintenance of the ship? You are the captain of the ship, you decided when it has to make a stop. Don't you?"


	6. Lithuania and the Prince

It was a beautiful summer day, the sun was setting and Vladimiras spent the last hours of the day practicing swordsmanship. He had started with Antanas, his fifteen years old nephew. One hour later the young was resting, trying to get his breath back and his uncle practiced with two opponents at the same time.

Both men facing Valdimiras were skilled fighters, as a matter of fact they were members of his personal guard and had fought at his side more than one battle. The soldiers surrounded their leader and approached from opposite directions trying to attack at the same time. Vladimiras who was almost two meters tall, broad shouldered and brawny, seemed a great bear surrounded by cautious hounds.

Antanas watched his uncle having some trouble containing his adversaries. If he had centered his interest on one of them, the other would have attacked him taking advantage of his lack of attention. So he was being forced to switch his attention from one to the other time and again trying to keep their attacks under control, waiting for them to make a mistake.

They have been training during fifteen minutes when Aras, the seneschal of his father entered in the training area behind the barracks and called him. "Prince Vladimiras, your father calls you."

The three men stopped and stood in the middle of the courtyard panting with sweat covering their bare chests. "Rest for a while, it has been a good training." Said the prince to his men. "Antanas, it's your turn. Practice with Steponas."

A short and bulky man, in his early fifties, moved forward to the center of the training area, he was bald and a great scar run across his face from the chin to the left eyebrow. His left eye was empty due to the scar. "Come with me Antanas, let's work a bit of sweat." When smiling the left side of his mouth, where the scar crossed it, looked similar to a wolf baring its teeth.

The young stole a cautious glance at the short man. Antanas had inherited his height from his father, the elder brother of Vladimiras, and at the age of fifteen, he was taller than Steponas. But he knew the character and skill of his new opponent who was not going to be so gentle as his uncle.

Prince Vladimiras followed his father's courier, while putting on his shirt, through the keep door and the stairs to the main hall. His father was seated on the throne and raised his head when they come in, giving his son a suspicious stare.

The king had been a handsome and strong man, tall like the men of his dynasty used to be. But old age had not been gentle with him. The defeat of his country and the death of all his sons but Vladimiras had eroded his health and only remained a shadow of the great king he had been. He spent his days in the main hall as if watching for an enemy who was going to steal his throne.

"Good morning Vladimiras, how old are you?" The King said when his son reached the bottom of the stairs which led to the top of the dais.

Vladimiras was taken aback by the strange question."Twenty seven, father." He answered frowning. "But you already know that." Finally added with caution.

The King looked at his son while he went upstairs. Long blonde hair fell over Valdimiras' shoulders and a trimmed goatee decorated his well shaved face. His ice blue colored eyes gazed at his father attentively."Old enough to get married. Prepare your entourage to depart as soon as possible to Arendelle." The old men's voice sounded cold. It was the same tone which might have been used to give orders to a soldier regarding the daily routine.

"Arendelle? You are talking about Queen Elsa's marriage?" Vladimiras asked calmly.

"Of course I'm talking about her. You are going to be the king of Lithuania when I die, princess Anna is not enough for you!" Was the king's curt response.

Vladimiras though for a while, as if he wasn't sure about the advisability of a reply. "Father, the summer campaign has started two weeks ago. Our army is moving against the Tartars and on Monday I was going to depart with my men to join them. Why I have to marry right now?"

"Because you will be king, and one duty of the kings is to father sons, and it is a little bit difficult if you don't have a woman."

"You already have nieces and Antanas, as the firstborn son of my elder brother, will inherit the kingdom. I wonder why there is such a hurry to marry me."

"A king should have sons, not nephews." Was the angry response. The king took a deep breath and continued in a soft but tense voice."You should be in Arendelle in two weeks. I know that this is not the best moment, but we have to seize the opportunity while we can."

"Why is so important that I marry that westerner queen?"

"Well, a week ago you explained me the advantages we would get opening our commerce to the west." The eyes of the prince shone with the sudden turn of the conversation. His father remained silent for a moment, fully aware of the interest of his son, before went on."Arendelle will be a good port of call for our merchant ships and its commercial network a good support for us."

"But you turned the idea down flat. You even didn't let me finish my explanation." The prince shook his head while talking. " Why you have changed your mind."

"The old man clicked his tongue. "Anyway you will open our commerce to westerners when I lay in my grave, you just will do it slightly earlier."

"This is not enough father, you know that I am going to change many things when I Am the King. And this is the firs time that you accept one of these changes."

"Will be reason enough for you that with the wealth of Arendelle at our side, we will be able to throw out the Imperials from the plains."

"Father you are talking nonsense and you know it. We don't have enough manpower. The Imperials decimated our army in the last war. We were lucky to get a peace treaty. Maybe your grandchildren will be powerful enough to change that, but you and I will die with them in the plains."

"The wealth of Arendelle will accelerate the process." Repeated stubbornly the old man.

"Father, the Imperials will be our allies in the following decades. We can like or dislike it, but our army will cooperate with the imperial army against the Tartars. Regarding the Imperials, what about the meeting with their commanders in the plains to coordinate both armies? I must be in that meeting!"

"Always talking with the Imperials, how fond you are of them! You have forgotten that they killed your four brothers?"

"I haven't . Although it was in battle and we lost the war. I can't leave our army for..."

"You even have friends between them" The old man interrupted, obviously he didn't even was listening to his son. "Relationships like this aren't suitable."

"Father this is not the point. You still haven't given me a valid reason to marry queen Elsa."

"Because I ask you to do so. I have my reasons and they are for the best of our land and people. A wise man always takes its decisions motivated by different reasons. You should accept the ones that I give to you." They remained silent for a moment gazing into each other eyes.

"Are you going to obey my orders or I must blame the Imperials for losing all my sons?" The old man asked with a tired voice, while staring at his last remaining son.

The prince stood his fathers gaze for a while, but finally the lowered his head heaving a sigh. "I'm sorry father. You command and I obey." He said at last. "But I need something to give in exchange."

"What do you mean?" The voice of the King seemed wary.

"They won't give the most desired bride of Europe away to me just because they like me. I need something to offer in exchange."

"And?" The King looked at Vladimiras as if he had turned into a venomous snake.

"You told it. Our commerce is the key. If we opened our commerce to a western nation in exclusive for ten or twenty years they would support our claim."

"And you would do it only to ensure your marriage with Queen Elsa. Are you sure that there isn't any other thing you can offer in exchange?"

"A wise man always takes its decisions motivated by different reasons. And it is the only thing that I'm going to offer in exchange." Vladimiras smiled towards his father saying that last words.

Vladimiras left the main hall and went outside. He walked toward the staircase to the battlements. While crossing the courtyard, he met a valet.

"Fetch Steponas, he is training in the barracks. Tell him to come to the battlements with all members of my personal council." The servant nodded and went to carry out the order."

The prince went upstairs and looked the scenery from the battlements. He covered his face with both hands, leaning the elbows on the battlements. Every time he talked with his father, he felt the necessity to breath fresh air. After a long snort he lowered his hands and looked to the west, far away through land and sea was Arendelle and his wife to be.

He watched the setting sun while his men went up and joined around him in the gathering dusk. Eventually he heard Steponas voice. "Everybody who is in the castle is here, my lord."

Vladimiras turned to face his men. All were gazing at the prince, in a few days they were supposed to meet the army and they wonder what he was going to say. "There are going to be changes in the planning of the campaign." The prince started to say.

"Are we going to kill Imperials instead of Tartars?" Interrupted Steponas voice. All the men around him burst into a laugh. The prince looked around him smiling. They were his loyal retainers, most of them had suffered with him the harsh defeats of two years ago against the Imperials and the even harsher retreat from the plains. For a moment his mind went back and remembered a snow covered landscape with mounted figures, clad in black with a death's head in their caps, moving through the trees.

Vladimiras' shook his head as if throwing out undesired memories."No, we are going to fight on the empire's side against the Tartars, but I am not going to command the army I have to go to Arendelle to get a Queen for Lithuania."

All the group fell in dead silence. Vladimiras went on before anybody could speak. "The current leader of the army will command it during the campaign. I want daily reports of the operations and five quick ships traveling between Lithuania and Arendelle to bring them." He signaled one of his men who nodded and went downstairs to carry on the orders.

"Call our delegate in London, I want him in Arendelle as soon as possible with all the information he can gather about this issue." Another man departed from the group.

"Antanas, you will come with me. Don't frown, you will have plenty of time to fight in a battle, but this experience will be far more interesting. Go to say goodbye to your mother."

"I want to know more information about Queen Elsa of Arendelle." Vladimiras gazing at one of his men." Fetch people who can give us any information about her or her court."

"I have been told that she is a beauty. "

Vladimiras turned towards the man who had spoken. "Well I can't say that I'm completely indifferent to this issue." His men burst out laughing."But I'm not looking for beauty" He said and turned again to look the man who had been gazing before. "I'm looking for a Queen. I want information about her character and his capacities. From people who had told with her or had done business with her. I don't need to know how beautiful she is. Try among our ship captains and our traders." The man in front of the prince nodded and left.

"Steponas, you could speak french, isn't it?"

"Yes, but I don't like the french," Steponas hesitated for a moment. "nor any westerner."

"I'm the one who is going to be married. You will come with me. Fetch in the court everybody who can speak a foreign language. I will speak with them before we depart and decide who come with us." Steponas nodded and left the group.

The Prince sent his men to perform different tasks in order to leave Lithuania in two days. When the last of them had left it was dark and the servants had brought torches. The prince remained alone in the dim light looking thoughtful to the west until Steponas come upstairs.

"How are you? " The old man asked to the prince.

"What do you mean?"

"Come on! I have trained you since you were five years old and I know when you are worried, even when you wear your impassible face. So hard have been the conversation with your father?"

"Conversations with my father have been always..." He doubted for a second. "difficult." He concluded at last. "Before the death of my brothers we always have the option to just ignore each other. But now I'm the heir and our relations are even worse."

"Don't take that into account. He had become old and bitter and heavens knows he had good reasons. Did he told you why you have to marry that westerner girl?"

"I don't know, he gave me some unconvincing reasons. But at last he gave me a direct order."

"And what are you going to do?"

"Obey him, of course! He may be embittered, but he is still the king and my father."

Both men remained without speaking for a while, at last Steponas voice broke the silence. "Antanas' mother wants to talk with you. She looks very angry." The old man said to the prince.

"I'm taking Antanas away from her side. She is worried by the travel to Arendelle."

Steponas clicked his son, making a wry face. "I don't buy it. Anatas was supposed to go to war in a few days. His mother should be exultant. There is another reason."

Both men remained silent, looking at each other, the prince leaning on the battlements and his companion awaiting a reply in the staircase. Eventually Steponas looked around, checking that nobody was near them, and talked. "Why you don't tell the truth to your father."

"Because she is the wife if my elder brother."

"Your brother died long ago, and she is of a distinguished family."

"Her family defends the old traditions, and they oppose to open our country to the west. It was one of the reasons to marry her with my brother. If she was my Queen they would get a dangerous pre-eminence."

"The old traditions have served us well for centuries."

"I haven't got time to discuss it. I have a lot of things to do."

"Talking with her for instance?" Said Steponas with a broad and deformed smile on his face.

The Prince took a deep breath and went downstairs, followed by its comrade. When they reached the bottom of the staircase Steponas said. "Truth to be told, it seems to me that we have snow and ice enough in winter without having to bring here that westerner Snow Queen!"


	7. A Stroll through Arendelle

Anna and Kristoff were returning to Arendelle. Having her breakfast, Anna had had the disturbing feeling that that day would be the last ordinary day for a long while and had felt the necessity to go for a stroll with Kristoff, as they used to do. That same evening, both sisters were going to receive officially the delegations. When Anna's face was known by the newcomers, going out for a walk would have been impossible without attracting everyone's attention.

Anna had tried to convince Elsa to come with them. Elsa had shut herself in the castle the last two months working night and day. Going for a walk would have been good for her, but she was too busy dealing with the last details. Anna has suffered pangs of conscience, leaving Elsa alone in the castle, but she and Kristoff had worked as hard as Elsa, and it might be their last opportunity for a long while.

So, they had left the castle early in the morning and climbed the foothills of the mountains around Arendelle. From that high ground they had a good view of the castle and the village around. The terrains surrounding Arendelle were full with encampments, they have been raised to accommodate the retinues of the different delegations. For a moment Anna had the crazy idea that they looked as the encampments of an enemy army besieging the castle.

"Have you said plentypotentiaries?" Asked Kristoff.

Anna stopped daydreaming and centered her attention in the explanation she was doing to Kristoff. "Plenipotentiaries, the word is plenipotentiaries. They have the power to take decisions on their governments' behalf. That's the reason because they bring far more people in their retinues than the diplomats who came to the coronation a year ago. In the coronation day the representatives were common diplomats. But today we are going to receive the best and most powerful diplomats of the European powers. Elsa and..." She took a deep breath before concluding."...me."

" You are going to do well, I'm sure."

"I depend too much on Elsa. He had been trained by our parent in these issues. My training should have started when our parents returned from the voyage. Even Elsa's training was incomplete. We would have needed more time with them, a whole life in fact." She said the last words in a barely audible voice and remained silent her mind lost in the past.

Kristoff put her arm around Anna's shoulders. She smiled and leaned her head on Kristoff. "My father forecast that." She continued. "Elsa told me yesterday that he said that Arendelle is a very isolated place, and this is our protection. But sometimes this is not enough. From time to time great powers like England or France interfere in Arendelle's life, and you have to handle it as well as you can. We have been isolated until now, it's time to face the outside world."

Anna looked to the mountains around Arendelle, they were like the borders of a nest, a protecting barrier. But the protection had been broken and they should control the situation. She slipped gently from Kristtof embrace."We can go through Arendelle." She said with decision.

"It is full of people, somebody could recognize you and what for?" Kristoff replied surprised.

"I want to see how those newcomers treat our people. It 's my responsibility to take care of them. Regarding to be recognized, look at me." She took a step backwards and spread her arms smiling. "Do you think that anybody is going to recognize a princess under these clothes."

Kristoff took a long glance at Anna's clothes. They were of good quality but simple, truth to be told she looked like the daughter of a prosperous farmer or merchantman. It was difficult to discover a member of the royal family of Arendelle in that young woman of shining eyes. "What about the rosemaling?" Asked Kristoff signaling the lower border of his girlfriend dress.

She looked down and glanced to the edge of her long skirt trimmed with the embroidered small emblems of the crocus, the flower that was the official crest of Arendelle. They had the color and shape corresponding to a princess of Arendelle.

"Only a princess of Arendelle wear these patterns. Somebody could recognize who you are." Stated Kristoff.

"Even if they realize that I wear them, do you really believe that anyone of those newcomers would recognize the royal emblems of Arendelle?" Kristoff was going to reply but Anna turned on her heel and walked off slowly towards Arendelle. He shook his head and walked along the dirt track following Anna.

Anna and Kristoff make their way towards Arendelle through the imperial encampment. The place was deserted, only a few servants from the castle were finishing off the place.

"Is there any news about the imperial delegation?" Asked Kristoff.

"They should arrive during the morning. Kai is getting nervous by the minute. We can't start without them."

"Why are they so important."

"The Empire is the greatest power in Europe. From its Austruo-Hungarian core it controls the north of Italy, most of the Balkans, the lower Danube and the lands to the north of the black seas as far as the Crimean Peninsula. They are far away from Arendelle but anyway they should be the first delegation to be formally received. That's the reason because we have delayed three days the reception until they arrive. Poor Kai, he had been a month reading books about protocol, the imperial etiquette is rather complex."

"How is the imperial flag?"Asked Kristoff.

"Yellow, with a two-headed eagle."

"Then the empire has arrived." He signaled towards the mouth of the fjord where a great ship was entering. Both gazed the heavy and slow ship approaching to Arendelle.

"They put forward a..." Kristoff doubted for a second."...suitor for you."

"Yes. In fact, they propose two candidates, one for every one of us."

"How many candidates have come?"

"Ten for Elsa, twenty two for me."

"What a success, you will make your sister jealous. " Joked Kristoff joyless.

"It's easier to fit the conditions to marry a princess than to marry a queen. It's a question of protocol."

"There isn't too much space for love."

"No, there isn't."

While talking, they have been moving through the campsite and went out reaching a little stream which was placed between the empty place and its adjacent encampment. The Lithuanians have already occupied it and the place was humming with activity while the newcomers established themselves in their new home in the days to come.

Strange words in a foreign language filled the air while the men clad in light green uniforms moved the baggage inside the tents. In a field by the path two bare chested men were practicing sword fighting. One of them was a bald man with a ugly scar over his face, the other was tall as a fully grown man. But when Anna approached them, she realized that he was a teenager taller than many adults.

They were discussing in their own language while fighting. The boy looked angry with the bald man, and his opponent seemed to mock at him. The tone of their voice was so hard that it was difficult to say if they were training or in a real fight. Anna feels uncomfortable, the soldiers clad in light green and those men fighting didn't look as a diplomatic delegation but much more like an invading army.

They left the Lithuanians behind and arrived to Arendelle. It was amazing. The village was full of people of the different delegations, some were civilians dressed in common clothes, but a lot of them were soldiers clad in their full-dress uniforms. A mixture of colors and distinctions from all Europe was crammed into the narrows streets of Arendelle.

For Kristoff, raised among the trolls in the wilderness, Arendelle used to be a crowned place. In that moment, it was just unimaginable. Servants moving baggage, soldiers and sailors looking for a place to drink, attendants bringing messages and the people of Arendelle trying to take care of their affairs.

When they passed the best inn in the town, Anna realized that a young man was standing in the middle of the street with a confused gaze in his eyes, looking around him as if he was seeking help. He had a childish expression in his face, and was obviously afraid. Ana was about to help him, when a tall man with long black air, clad in a dark green uniform approached and take him by the arm. The presence of the tall man seemed to reassure the young man.

"Poor man." Said Anna to Kristoff. "What is he doing in Arendelle?"

"Maybe he had come with one of the delegations." Replied Kristoff.

"I suppose he must be a relative of one of the candidates. But I thought that it's unwise to travel with a man in that condition." Concluded Anna and kept on walking towards the long pier where the reception of the imperials was planned.

When Anna and Kristoff reached the pier a boat from the imperial brigantine was approaching. Anna saw Kai, waiting for the imperials in the harbor. Even from that distance, Anna could see that he was tense. Looking at Kai, Anna noticed a man over the long pier. He wore black hussar uniform and walked towards the boat as if he was going to run through a brick wall.

"Good morning Kai." Said Anna Approaching to the seneschal.

"Good Morning princess Anna!" Said Kai surprised to see Anna there.

"How are you doing with the imperials?" Asked the princess.

"Well I have gone to their ship in order to make the first contact, and they have received me with a complaint." Kai's voice sounded worried.

"So soon?" Anna couldn't help an expression of amused surprise.

"Yes, When I explained the situation of the imperial encampment they told me that they don't want the Lithuanian as neighbors."

"But, they are their allies. What's the problem."

"Well they have been at war with the Lithuanians during ten years before they signed a treaty two years ago."

"But we told about that when we distributed the encampments and it is supposed that the treaty has preference."

"Yes but ..."

"I think that we should leave the harbor. Kai can handle the Imperials on his own. We would be only of nuisance value." Interrupted Kristoff nodding towards the boat from the brigantine that was about to reach the pier.

"You are right."Replied Anna, and saying goodbye to Kai turned around to leave the harbor. She took a last look at the pier and saw the black figure at the end of it waiting for the boat hands on hips. In that moment the sound of the cannons broke the calm of the fiord. All the people in the harbor left their work and looked in astonishment towards the origin of the sound. The English frigate, anchored at the far end of the fiord had fired a salute for the imperials with its cannons.

Anna gave at the frigate a last glance, and left the harbor with Kristoff at her side through the streets of Arendelle, heading towards the castle. While crossing the main square Anna saw that under the great canopy of the market a great table had been placed and a lot of people was around it. Some were seated, others were standing, but all were drinking, laughing and talking very loud in different languages. At the head of the table was a fat man dressed in hussar uniform with his bandaged right foot resting over a small stool. Looking at him Anna realized that all the people around the table wore hussar uniform, or an equivalent light cavalry unit uniform, but for two men next to the head of the table.

The one at the right was a colonel of the British infantry with his red and white uniform. He had a face round as a moon and hair as red as his uniform. The other on the left was a tall man with black air and colorless eyes who was dressed in civilian clothing. The other people around the table wore the typical Hussar uniform, tight trousers and jackets. Knee-high boots and the pelisse, a short fur lined jacket, hanging loose over the left shoulder.

The daughter of the innkeeper, a young girl no older than eighteen, whose name was Ida, came with more wine and beer for the table. The men at the table received her with cheers and shouts of approval. While the young waitress was pouring the drinks, some of the seated soldiers started to joke in different languages. The young girl couldn't understand a word, but it was obvious that she was getting nervous.

A Bavarian hussar, clad in a red uniform, raised from the table and talked in German. "Young lady please, sit and drink a toast to the beautiful Queen and princess of Arendelle." The girl blushed to the roots of her air and tried to go around the Bavarian.

"You lack the appropriate touch, my friend." Said in French an hussar with a dark green uniform with yellow braids in the chest.

"Talk her in French!" Said another French hussar, clad in a light gray uniform and red boots next to the first."So we can appreciate your skill and she won't understand a word, whatever you say."

"A burst of laughter from the table accompanied such words." The girl stepped back, but she bumped into a young lieutenant of the British light dragoons, he wore a light blue uniform with the sleeves and trousers heavy embroidered with white patterns, who was standing behind her.

"Let's try in English." Said in that language in a cheerful mood." Please young lady, make us the honor of sitting with us."

The waitress looked around for a way to scape. She was obviously frightened, but roars of laughter and joyful expressions cheered the dragoon's words.

"Let's try making gestures" Said in french the former Bavarian hussar to all the people around the table. They greeted those words banging on the table and giving him advice on the more useful or funny gestures. The hussar turned back to face the waitress, but he was surprised to see a young red headed lady, barely older than the waitress interposing herself between them. While Anna moved to face the hussar, she put a hand over Ida's shoulder and gently pushed the frightened girl away.

The princess gazed at the hussar with calm but fierce eyes. "Leave us Ida." She said without looking at the young girl. The daughter of the innkeeper nodded and ran away towards her father who, realizing that something was wrong, had left the inn and was coming.

The English light dragoon behind them was so surprised that he even didn't try to stop Ida's.

"What a surprise!" Said the Bavarian hussar smiling. "Were you jealous of your friend? " He talked in French to be sure that everybody will understand him.

"I suppose you pride yourself on mocking at a young girl who don't even understand you." Calmly said Anna in French giving him a displeased look.

The Bavarian was taken aback, although he quickly replied. "Wow! I have found a pearl! If I am able to understand what the girl says, everything becomes much easier." But the tone in his voice was dubious, something was escaping his notice and that fact bothered him. Anyway the people around the table encouraged him.

"Then let me rephrase that. You are so afraid of women that you need twelve friends to be brave enough to talk one of them, even if she can't understand you?" Anna retorted his question to mock the proud hussar.

Everybody around the table laughed, but the Bavarian hussar. He was hesitating when a hand fell over his shoulder. The man with the colorless eyes have moved from the head of the table and was at his side. "She is a princess of Arendelle, stupid!" The man said in German to the hussar.

The Bavarian turned pale and tried to say something, but when Anna heard those words, she turned around to leave the canopy. The English, who didn't speak German, hadn't understood the warning, and tried to block her path. But the young princess gave him a furious look. "Get out of my way!" She ordered in English. The light dragon stepped back, something in Anna's tone and the expression of the Bavarian caused him worry.

Kristoff, who had been watching all the time ready to intervene, took him by the arm, and pushed her out of the square. "What did that man say." He didn't speak any language but Norwegian, so he hadn't understand the conversation. But he had realized that the last warning from the civilian had surprised Anna.

"He had recognized me! He said that I was an Arendelle princess! How has he been able to..." Anna asked surprised.

"Anna, It was easy." Said Kristoff calmly. "You have talked in their own language and you have confronted them. You have attracted their attention and one of them knows about the livery of Arendelle."

"I can hardly believe that he knows enough about the royal protocol."

"You said that they were the best diplomats in Europe. I suppose that they aren't common people, and therefore common assumptions aren't enough, dealing with them."

Anna thought for a while and, suddenly her eyes widened. "Kristoff, have I done what I have done?"

"Are you talking about face alone twelve soldiers that you and your sister will receive this evening in the official delegations." Replied Kristoff, smiling.

"Elsa will kill me!" Exclaimed Anna.

"Don't worry. Everybody but the man in red seems to be having a good time. What language were you talking with them?"

"French." Replied Anna. "and English."

"And how do you speak those languages?"

"Foreign Languages were part of our education. We have to learn French because it is the language of the diplomacy. Everybody in the conference will speak French, other languages will be used only if both speakers are more comfortable with them."

"And what about the English?"

"Well I liked to study languages. I thought that they were part of remote lands that someday I would visit in Elsa's name. So I studied also English and German."

"And Elsa?"

"She disliked to learn languages. The French was enough for her, but She speaks it as if it was her mother tongue. I have a strong Norwegian accent instead."

They had been walking towards the castle while talking and eventually reached the bridge to the castle gates. Both remained silent while entering in the bridge guarded by two guards of Arendelle.

When they were away from the soldiers Kristoff said. "I wish I could be more useful."

"What do you mean?"

"All this situation, the plenipotentiaries, the languages...I'm good moving in the wilderness, but my skills are useless in this situation."

"Oh, come on! You were useful enough in the expedition to the inner valleys!" Anna waited for further comments. Since they had started to prepare for the conference, she had a feeling that Kristoff tried to say something to her.

"Kristoff, do you want to tell me something else?" She asked at last.

"Ehhhhh... No." The mountain man was behaving in a strange way, but who was behaving as usual?

"I need you at my side. I need your common sense to avoid doing silly things." She said in a sweet tone of voice.

"Things like facing a bunch of Hussars alone?" Replied Kristoff smiling at last.

"Yes, your common sense will be necessary. I have the feeling that there won't be too much common sense in Arendelle in the days to come." She said looking at the encampments around the village. Both smiled to each other, but their smiles had a bit of sadness.

On the main square of Arendelle Otto took a last look towards Anna and returned at his uncle's side. "According to the ornaments in her dress, she is a princess of Arendelle."

"Anna I suppose, since there is no other princess. You were wrong interrupting them. I wanted to know what she's made of." Replied the old hussar. Both were talking in German.

"Have you recognized her?" Asked Otto, surprised.

"You haven't been the only one to read the book about Norwegian Royal livery that Lord Halkett had in his library."

"So she was the princess of Arendelle." Interrupted Collin Hakket also talking in German. "She is a bold girl, that's for sure. She had preferred to face the hussars herself instead of calling the guards."

"It is a pity that Otto interfered" Said Friedrich von Schrader."I wanted to know if she was able to handle the situation without calling the guards or showing herself as princess of Arendelle."

"Didn't you fear the reaction of the Bavarian?" Replied Otto.

"In front of half Arendelle?" The count laughed." He wasn't drunk enough. She has never been in real danger. Otto, In this kind of issues, you have to fear what a soldier can do when nobody see them instead of when everybody is watching."

"Who was that girl?" Interrupted in English the voice of Alan Halkett. He and Kurt had joined the group after looking the last part of the confrontation between Anna and the hussar from an adjacent street. Allan was looking with an astonished gaze towards the point where Anna and Kristoff had left the square.


	8. View from the Castle

Elsa was on his way toward the great tower in the northwest corner of the castle. She had reached the middle of the courtyard when a childish voice called her.

"Queen Elsa, Queen Elsa!"

The Queen turned around to find Kjersti, Kay's niece. Since the opening of the gates, a year before, the eight years old girl had been a constant presence in the castle and one of the few inhabitants of Arendelle who dare to talk without the slightest hesitation with the Queen, although the constant rebukes from her parents and grandfather.

"Queen Elsa,Queen Elsa. We would like so much to skate! Can we, can we?" Said the little girl smiling. Her mouth had a lot of missing teeth due to the combination of the normal teeth falling at her age, and multiple accidents caused by a strong tendency to move before thinking. She was short for his age and his hazel hair was so unkempt that it was difficult to believe that early in the morning it has been combed by her mother and put in two beautiful pigtails.

A mischievous smile appeared on Elsa's face while she leaned in to talk with his young petitioner. "We? I don't see anybody but you."

The girl signaled to a distant corner of the courtyard, a group of children was hidden behind a wagon full of hay. "They fear to talk with the Snow Queen." Kjersti grimaced contemptuously.

Elsa raised her eyebrows. "I see, well I hope that in the next occasion one or two of them will be brave enough to come with you. The ice will last only for two hours, then it will melt in order to be dry this evening."

"Yes, yes, yes" Said Kjersti giving little jumps of joy while trying to catch the fluttering cloak of Elsa which was moved by the slight breeze, reflecting the light of the summer sun.

Elsa straightens up and waved her right hand, a jet of ice sprang, crossed the courtyard and hit on the floor. A thin sheet of ice covered a section of the courtyard and all the children went cheering to play over it.

Elsa turned around and went upstairs until she reached the top floor of the tower. The childish cries of joy from the courtyard made her smile, but when she saw the fiord crowded with the ships of the different delegations her smile faded.

The great imperial brigantine was entering in the fiord as Gerda had told. It was the greatest ship in the fiord, but also slow and clumsy. Suddenly the English frigate fired a salute for the Imperials.

Elsa saw all the people in the castle startled by the sound of the cannons, even the royal guards. "They don't lose any opportunity to show us their cannons." Elsa frowned, looking towards the ship surrounded by the smoke from the gunpowder. "It would be so easy to sink it. It's just a matter of accumulating ice on one side of the ship until it gets off balance and turns over. It shouldn't be done too quickly, so the crew could flee the ship." Elsa took a deep breath and opened her clenched hands."It would be easy but useless. Ice won't feed our people and England had more frigates and cannons."

Two men came up from the courtyard, the first wore the Arendelle guard's uniform. He was tall, but gaunt and his uniform seemed half filled by his lean body. The face was bony and the blue eyes, half hidden in the deep eye sockets, had a stark gaze. The pale blonde hair was trimmed short as he didn't accept any type of exuberance. He was the captain of the Arendelle guard, sole responsible for the security of the castle and the royal family and also of the conference that was going to put under his protection princes and magnates from the great European countries.

The other man, who was in his late fifties, wore civilian clothes in the style of the Empire. In his right hand, he brought a cane, since he was lame in the right foot. The man's face, weather-beaten by uncountable days under the sun and rain, was as inexpressive as a leather mask, but the bright eyes were sharp and inquisitive. His white hair was tied in a short and neat ponytail.

"Hello Rolf." Said Elsa to the captain."How are things going?"

Rolf bowed his head. "Fine, Queen Elsa, but some difficulties had arisen."

"What kind of difficulties."

"Well, sometimes is difficult to handle people who hold properties greater that the entire kingdom of Arendelle. They are especially sensitive to any possible lack of respect, real or imagined, from our guards when they try to intercede in a quarrel. My men have been instructed to be tactful, but it's hard to be patient."

Elsa smiled. "Be as gently as possible, but the people of Arendelle should be protected from them. They are powerful men in their countries, and may have different ways to treat the common people. Anyway you should ensure that they are gentle in their interactions with the inhabitants of Arendelle. Kai will handle any problem with the protocol if needed. What is the motive for these quarrels?"

"The discussions are about prices and things that become scarce due to the increase in demand. But the more usual and sensitive are about women."

"Women?" Asked Elsa barely suppressing a smile.

"Yes, there are a lot of young soldiers and they..." Rolf thought for a second about the correct words to use. " ...show a great interest for the young women of Arendelle."

"I see, anyway you should maintain them at bay."

"Yes but sometimes it is pretty difficult to know if the girl wants to be helped" The commander of the guard said those words slowly like thinking about every word he was saying. "In the parents' sake, I have established, as a rule of thumb, to be overprotective. I have to say that our guards are surprisingly willing to do that."

Elsa can't help smiling at that words. "I trust in your judgement."

"And is this the most usual problem?" Asked the other man in surprise.

"Corrado, you know how the young women are! If they find a pair of intense dark eyes with a flamboyant and colorful uniform, they throw the caution to the wind." Said Rolf to the old man, forgetting where he was.

"Really?" Asked Elsa, raising her eyebrows.

"Er, I Mean..." Said the soldier suddenly aware that his Queen was twenty two years old.

Elsa couldn't help the right corner of her mouth quirking upward for a second like a smile she was trying to disguise. "Continue please, I'm very interested." She asked with an obviously feigned innocence.

"I think you already have the list of the chambers distribution from Kai." Interrupted Corrado.

"Yes, Kai was busy with the Imperials and told me to bring it to you." Said Rolf, quickly producing a piece of paper from his pockets, with a grateful gaze at Corrado.

Elsa took a quick view over the list and made a few comments regarding the distribution of the chambers and also settled the last pending issues for the evening reception. Eventually she dismissed Rolf and turned her attention to his friend.

The Queen was concerned about Corrado because he was an imperial engineer. Elsa had trusted him due to his stark honesty and to the fact that the empire was far away, and it was unlikely to interfere in Arendelle. But eventually, much to everybody's surprise, the empire had come. Now Elsa's most delicate affairs were in the hands of a man whose loyalty might be bound to the Empire.

"Corrado." Elsa spoke always French with him since the man hadn't the slightest idea of Norwegian. "We have talked before about that, but today is your last opportunity to leave Arendelle. The empire has arrived if you feel that working for me is incompatible with your oaths to the empire, now is the moment to depart without ill feelings. But If you stay in Arendelle I will need complete obedience and loyalty."

"Queen Elsa, as you have said, we have talked about that before and I haven't changed my mind. I will remain at your service. I have been born in Italy, under the rule of the Empire, and I have served in its army as an engineer, but I haven't any bond or loyalty to it." Replied him in fluid French but with a strong Italian accent.

"Well" Said Elsa, pushing aside a wisp of her bangs as if she was also pushing aside her worries about Corrado. "Then you will start to download it this evening when the celebrations, after the official reception, started. Needless to say that it should be done in great secrecy. Arendelle will be in a difficult situation if any of the delegations get the slightest idea about it."

"My Queen, I'm fully aware of what is at stake. The entire negotiations will be suspended and nobody could predict the English reaction. I have fenced in the new harbor entirely and the guards have been instructed to maintain the people away for their own safety's sake." The engineer smiled faintly before adding. "A harbor under construction is a dangerous place."

"Good." Said Elsa. "Nobody will enter in the new harbor without my permission or Anna's."

"What are you saying about me?" Said Anna who was coming up the stairway. "I have been told that I would find you here." She said to Elsa

"Hello Anna, How was your stroll?" Said Elsa, beaming at her sister."I have seen that you crossed through Arendelle."

"Yes, it has been ... interesting." Anna turned towards the old engineer. "Tell me Corrado, all the hussars are so aggressive."

"The hussars are supposed to be aggressive and intelligent. A lot of people say, specially the hussars themselves, that if they weren't aggressive then they wouldn't be good hussars. I'm sorry to say that although most hussars are aggressive, the last condition wasn't so universally fulfilled."

"Have you had any problem with them." Asked Elsa .

"Nothing at all." Replied Anna seating over the battlements and looking to the fiord with sudden interest. "Do you have any news of the French?"

"Corrado" Said Elsa, looking at the old man. "May you left us alone? Please." The imperial vowed and went downwards the staircase, leaving both sisters alone.

"Why you don't trust him." Asked Anna.

"I trust him, but the lesser he knows the better. He will know only what he needs to know. And, answering your previous question, the French delegate, after two days delaying the answer, has replied that the meeting I proposed would be a breach in the protocol.

"But it should be a private meeting between you and him!"

"Yes, and if something isn't public it cannot be a breach in the protocol. His rejection is just a polite way of getting rid of me."

"Just like the English."

"Yes, just like the English and his health problems that didn't allow him to leave the frigate. They don't want even talk to us."

"What about talking with the other candidates, maybe you can get something from them."

"It will be useless. Everybody is waiting to see what England and France decide, trying to influence them. The only one who can have his own opinion is the Empire, but they are far less important that the other two."

"Talking about it, Kay says that the Empire has complained about the position of their camp."

"Complained? Why?"

"It seems they dislike their neighbors the Lithuanians."

"I don't understand." Elsa looked puzzled."They are their allies. They have signed a military alliance against the Tartars."

"Yes, but they were ten years at war not long ago. Why we can't just move the Lithuanians."

"Because then the offended will be the Lithuanians. Let's let Kai handle this Issue."

Both sisters looked for a while how the imperial delegation started to get off from the brigantine.

"Elsa?"

"Yes Anna."

"What are we going yo do if neither the English nor the French want to negotiate with us?"

"Don't worry Anna, sooner or later they will talk with us." Elsa said the last words with confidence, but Anna had learned enough about her sister in the last year to see the cracks in her mask.

Anna didn't comment on Elsa's words, instead she turned his head towards the castle. The beams of the July sun gleamed over the ice covers of the castle roofs and the complex ice structures that decorated the wooden constructions. "It is really wonderful, from the hills I had a better view and it was impressive."

"I hope they have also good views from the ships." Added Elsa. The roofs of the castle were covered with graceful ice structures, great sections of the courtyard were covered by vaults from which hanged great chandeliers. All made of ice, as the two octagonal towers at each side of the castle with great ice pillars which dived into the waters of the fiord to provide support enough for the great weight over the castle. It looked like a second transparent castle over the real castle.

"It mimics the Upper Belvedere in Vienna. Since the Empire is the first delegation to be received I thought that it would be appropriate to start with them." Finished the Queen.

"Are you going to change it every day as you told me?"

"Yes I have been looking all the books about foreign architecture that we have in the library. They have to see great pomp, and I think this will work."

"Won't it thaw? We are in summer."

"It will stand until I thaw it." Replied Elsa with confidence.

"All the other celebrations are ready?"Asked Anna.

"Yes. From now on, we are going to have a ball every day. Out of the castle a party will be celebrated for all the retainers and inhabitants of Arendelle."

"It will be really expensive." Said Anna smiling.

"If you think that this is exaggerated wait to see my outfit for tonight." Said Elsa with a sly smile."They have come to get the wealth of Arendelle, and wealth is what they are going to see. We need it to cover Corrado's maneuver." She was calm, but Anna could tell she was also tense.

Anna looked at her sister, Elsa had been working all day and the evening would be hard. It was going to be the culmination of long months of hard work and strain. "You must take a break before the reception." She said to her older sister

"We have talked about it this morning. I have a lot of things to do before the reception." Replied Elsa.

"How about a chess game? The gardens are ready for the reception and they look beautiful under the ice roofs."

Elsa was going to reply, but she hesitated, gazing at her sister." You are a stinker" She said, giving a knowing smile at Anna."

Anna smiled back, being beaten at chess by Elsa was an acceptable price."I get the chess set, but I'll be white." She said, strolling up to the stairs.

Meanwhile, Corrado met Rolf in the courtyard. "You are really generous to put yourself so up, the queen can relax herself shooting you down." Said the Italian.

"Come on! It isn't easy to explain a young queen the behavior of the soldiers regarding women. With her father everything would have been easier. How I miss him!" Rolf had been companion of the last King. In fact, they have been close friends, and the captain of the guard should have been in the ship that brought his friend and her wife to their tragic end. A sudden bout of fever had retained him in Arendelle; though having saved his life, it had left an illogical but intense sense of failure on him.

"She is could understand anything." Stated Corrado with a tone of voice that suggested that anybody in disagreement would be a poor fool.

"The problem isn't her intelligence, it's her.." Rolf thought for a second."...female condition."

"She hardly can change that, so it is better you get used to explain certain things to her."

Rolf snorted in disgust. "What about you. Has she again suggested that you should leave her service?"

"Yes, it's the third time! I start to believe she wants to get rid of me."

"The Queen fears that you paint yourself into a corner. She cannot help caring. It's a consequence of her female condition." He tilted his head to one side and raised his eyebrows." And she can hardly change it."


	9. The imperial reception

Author's note:

Hi everybody,

At last, we have reached Arendelle! When I started to plan "Two brides in Arendelle" I decided to use five introductory chapters to explain a rather complex political situation and, of course, the main characters in the conference to be held in Arendelle. While I write them, they look quite interesting, but all together, once uploaded, seems a large introduction. I hope it hasn't been too long.

Once in Arendelle, the first two chapters describe the situation from Arendelle's point of view and provide a glimpse of Anna and Elsa's personality. They are, hopefully, the same people who you see in the film, but their abilities as Queen and Princess have been a little bit more developed.

I'm very interested in your opinion. What do you think of the history? Do you like the characters? Do you like the history or you read it because your television is broken and you can't get money enough to fix it. Don't worry about being too critical. I'm writing this in order to learn so criticism is welcomed. If you would be so kind to send me your feedback, I would be very grateful.

And a last point, English is not my first language. In fact, it is the third. So I'm sorry for any error I may have done.

Well, I leave you with the imperial reception. Don't be afraid. I'm not going to describe all the receptions. This is the only one to be described. In a certain way is the real introduction of the Empire. I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

Ladislas was about to loose his temper. After two weeks of travel with constant discussions and confrontations they were about to meet the Queen of Arendelle and everybody was creating problems from petty details.

"Don't comment that on the reception." He said to Adrian, duke of Simonyi. "We can complain about the encampment position through official channels, but our interest now is to show our gentlest side."

"So worried are you for the opinion of those girls?" Said the duke with disdain in his eyes.

"I should agree with the imperial delegate. We are in English and French territory, everything we do and say will be reported to them. If we want to make agreements with them we must be tactful." The person who was talking was a short and tanned man in his late forties. "If we made trouble about such a petty issue, they will have a poor opinion of us."

"You see. Berganza agree." A soon as Ladislas said those words, something in Adrian's expression told him that how many people hold an opinion didn't have the slightest importance for him. Specially if one of them was Berganza. "Let's calm down. The reception is about to start." Saying that, Ladislas left them and took a look around the waiting room where the imperial delegation waited to be received. He was looking for somebody who can talk about something different than a quarrel.

In a side of the waiting room, away from Italians and Austro-Hungrian a figure clad in black was concentrated examining one of the pictures hanging on the wall. Ladislas went quickly at his side before anybody could stop him.

"Hello Erick, so interesting is the picture? "

"Eh! Hello Ladislas!" Said Erick turning his head from the picture. The young hussar smiled but he had a wary eye on the Imperial dignitary. "The Italians thought that I'm in Adrian's side, and the austro-hungarians know that I'm not with Adrian. So both ignore me. Truth to be told, I 'm very happy with that situation. The atmosphere is a bit strained." Erick wryly smiled, telling that.

They shook hands. "A long time from the last time I saw you in London..." Erick was saying, when he noticed the presence of von Leep, clad in his white uniform of guard cuirasser looking at her, in the ranks of the imperial delegation.

Ladislas realized the change in Erick's expression and turned to see the reason.

"He hates you." Explained Ladislas, seeing the cuirasser's resentful expression.

"Why? I didn't do him a wrong."

"After returning from the plains without you, he fell from your brother's favor. So interesing is the life in the plains that you needed to do a final trip throuht them?"

"It is intense, as I suppose your life should be if you have to deal with my brother."

Ladislas sighed. "This is not a delegation, it' s a nightmare. Your brother and Berganza hate one to each other and they are always looking for the best position to stab in the back each other. I'm the leader of the delegation, but both of them are Great Dukes, and I'm just a count. So it's difficult to handle them. And diplomacy is not the strong point of your brother, isn't it.?

"He is an Hungarian landlord. Diplomacy is not one of their abilities, and Adrian is considered tactless even by the other Hungarian landlords. He expect that people will just obey him. Keep this in mind when you deal with him and everything will be easier."

"Now he is trying to move the Lithuanian encampment just to keep himself amused, and it may cause useless troubles with Arendelle."

"He hates the Lithuanians, since he commanded the imperial army in the plains. But I suppose he wants to show that he can force Arendelle to do whatever he wants, just because he is an imperial Great Duke. He is used to start a negotiation in this way. It's like a dog marking its territory."

"And Berganza is always looking for an opportunity to profit. The empire is going to give a sad image of itself."

"But why the empire has been involved in this issue. The empire isn't the slightest bit interested in who controls Arendelle. It is too far away even for us. "

"And it was the position of the Empire. It was planned to send a formal representation just to keep an eye over Prussia and Bavaria. I was assigned to lead it since I was the nearest diplomat, but your brother left no stone unturned to persuade the Emperor to give support to his claim to Queen Elsa's hand."

"Why? Arendelle is wealthy but far less important that his dukedom."

"You are right. Maybe he want's the title of King. When the Emperor gave in and made an official claim, Berganza moved his contacts to be included in the delegation"

"Who is Berganza? He seems Italian but Berganza doesn't sound like an Italian forename."

"His family was from Spain but they established themselves in Milan long ago. He have been fought to death with your brother the last five years and he didn't let pass the opportunity to middle in his affairs. In fact, they have been quarreling all the travel, and you are the reason."

"Me?" Asked Erick in surprise.

"Yes, your brother was stupid enough to claim for the Queen and the princess. I told him that it was useless. The English will never accept both girls married with people of the same country. They want to avoid Arendelle being controlled by the French. If they got married with people from the same country the French might control that country and Arendelle would be in their hands. I tried to explain to your brother that lean on too much in your claim for Anna's hand would decrease his own possibilities regarding Queen Elsa. I hope you don't take offence at it. It was my duty."

"Don't worry. In fact I'm not going to marry princess Anna."

"Now both are quarreling to... wait a moment! What have you said?"

"I'm not going to marry princess Anna, two years ago I decided that l will never accept anything from my brother, and that includes the hand of a princess."

"Are you kidding? I know you had differences with you brother but..."

"He court-martialed me."

"You argued about his orders in the general staff meeting of the imperial army of the Plains."

"I only expressed my disagreement with her orders. The officers are supposed to have our own ideas."

"A captain is not supposed to quarrel with the commander of the army, although he was his brother. Adrian couldn't left the place to the Lithuanians, it would have been their foothold in the Black sea."

"Destroying the shipyards and the harbor would have been enough to left it useless for more than a year. The order was stupid and we destroy an entire town due to it."

"It was a petty town in the middle of nowhere. Who cares for it?"

"They were under imperial protection, we were supposed to protect them not to burn their homes, let alone that we endured six months of siege into it and previously spent three years fighting to consolidate our control of the region around."

"You haven't change from London, when you was the worst diplomat I have ever seen."

"If you tell it, I will take it as a compliment."

Both men looked at each other in an strained silence.

"Do you know what it means to be married with a princess of Arendelle?" Said Ladislas in a conciliatory manner.

"I have thought about it while traveling. I am happy in the plains I don't need Arendelle."

"If you want to remain in the army, being prince of Arendelle would mean a great support for your career."

"At what price? If Adrian is behind it I will depend on him. I'm sure that I will pay tenfold anything I get from him. I prefer to leave Arendelle as soon as possible and return with my regiment."

"If you have any. Have you thought what your brother can harm your career in the army? He is friend of the owner of your regiment. You could be dismissed."

Erick shrug his shoulders.

"Berganza have been trying to replace you by one of his man, a count from Verona. Your brother has avoided that because your are the logical option being half Norwegian but if you decline then the Veronese count will be the candidate for Anna. He will never forgive you"

"I wish them the best. I will send them a copy of 'Romeo and Juliette' from William Shakespeare as wedding gift."

"Don't get smart. " Ladislas closed his eyes for a while. "Do you know why your brother chose you?"

"I don't have the slightest idea. Maybe because I'm half Norwegian."

"No!. When he obtained he permission to start this silly adventure from the emperor himself, our beloved emperor remembered your existence."

"Do the emperor know about me?"

"He leaned on the old duke to force him to adopt you when your father died ten years ago. But don't take pride on that. House Simonyi is an old house and one of the few to have an Italian branch. Anything binding Italy to the Empire is important."

"Anybody had told him that I haven't been in Italy since they adopted me?"

"He wanted something symbolic, reality isn't a priority." Replied the diplomat with a wry smile. "Returning to the Arendelle conference, when the old emperor give his permission, he remembered you and suggested that both branches of house Simonyi claiming the sisters from Arendelle would be great."

"I see diplomatic reality isn't a priority."

Ladislas laughed joyless. "That's for sure. So, Adrian had a bad time calling you. Nobody can ignore an imperial suggestion." Ladislas looked at Erick as suggesting that he also couldn't.

Erick gazed at Ladislas but remain silent.

"If your claim to princess Anna doesn't come from Adrian but from the emperor, why don't you accept it?" Erick was going to reply but was stopped by a gesture. "Prince of Arendelle, think about it. You could take up again your diplomatic career, and we can forget this nonsense about changing our candidates."

Erick gazed his old comrade for a long while. "I think you were right." He said at last.

"Great!" Replied Ladislas? "Now we can forget this no sense..."

"I was a bad diplomat. It's useless to resume my career."

Ladislas' jaw clenched. "You aren't stupid. I don't understand why you behave as one. But if you aren't going to change your mind, please stay behind and don't stand out during the reception. I had told them to don't introduce you until we were sure about who is going to be Anna's candidate. It is embarrassing enough changing one candidate with the negotiations already started. It is better not to look like fools, centering too much attention on you." The voice of the red-haired diplomat was cold as ice.

"In fact, if you give me the order, I will mount my horse and leave Arendelle in an hour."

"I can't. As you have said, you have an imperial command to stay here until the army representative in Arendelle, your brother, gives you permission to leave. Ask him. After you told him that you are not going to marry princess Anna, I'm sure he will be in his best mood." Replied Ladislas with a feigned warm smile crossing his face.

Suddenly the doors of the main hall opened and the guards invited them to enter. Ladislas took his place at the head of the delegation with Adrian at his right and Berganza at his left. Some members of the delegation looked at Erick doubting about the position he had to take. But Erick placed himself in the rear ranks. If Adrian noticed this breach in the etiquette he couldn't tell.

The main hall was lavishly decorated. Banners with the crocus of Arendelle and the snowflake hanged on the walls. A line of Arendelle guards clad in his dark green uniform stands before each wall. At the back of the room, Kai awaited them by the throne of Arendelle on a dais.

When all the imperials were placed in the place corresponding to their ranks, Kai stepped forward and announced in a loud voice. "Queen Elsa of Arendelle."

Elsa appeared walking slowly to add solemnity to her apperance. She felt all the gazes of the presents over her, and forced herself not to look to the imperials. Instead she fixed her eyes over the friendly figure of Kai by the throne. The Queen wore an ice dress in imperial style covered with tiny ice crystals, floor length flared skirt, tight bodice, bare arms and high shoulder pads. The color of the ice changed from blue to white depending of the light, so Elsa's figure was covered by glimmering blue shadows that moved at the rhythm of her pace. Snowflakes on her hair reflected the light adding majesty to her blonde hair. Her transparent ice cloak hanged gracefully from her shoulders sweeping the floor.

Everybody in the hall hold their breath. They were in front of the Snow Queen at last, all the histories they had heard the last year about the winter unleashed over Arendelle, all the descriptions of her outstanding beauty, all the comments and suppositions during the travel to Arendelle, the vision of the castle covered in wonderful figures of ice in the middle of the summer when entering in the fiord in the morning. Everybody was thinking about all those things, adding an strange sense of wonder to the moment.

Elsa reached the throne and sat down. Then she took a look around the room, gazing at the imperials who arrogantly stand in front of her.

"Anna princess of Arendelle." Announced Kai when Elsa was in the throne.

Anna followed her sister, but she can't avoid looking to the imperials. She remembered the coronation ceremony a year ago. Everything had been so different then, the guests were a few friendly diplomats and the ceremony was a reason for joy. Now imperial soldiers in colored and flamboyant uniforms expected to get their prize. And the prize was Elsa and Anna!

Anna reached the throne and stood at the right of her sister. A year ago they were strangers to each other, now at least they were close again. She cast a sidelong lance at her left, Kristoff was there by Rolf. Clad in the dress uniform of the royal family of Arendelle. Black jacket, a red sash and grey trousers with a lighter grey stripe on each side. Anna looked also for Olaf, until she remembered that Elsa had sent the snowman to the ice palace in the North Mountain. Elsa had been right to hold him apart of Arendelle, but Anna can't help missing the playful snowman an his endless optimism.

A tall man clad in a red hussar uniform stepped forward and made an elaborate wave with his left arm, the right sleeve of his jacket hanged empty. He had an bold gaze and his hair was as red as his uniform. "Ladislas Kosztkapapp, imperial delegate." Announced Kai. The man at his right stepped forward. "Adrian duke of Simonyi." The duke was a tall and heavily-built man in his middle forties. Sandy hair and a square face with an aquiline nose. "Niccolo Berganza, duke of Milan." Concluded Kai about the man at the left. The Italian was a short man with dark skin, black hair, and penetrating gaze. All bowed, being introduced.

"I hope you had a pleasant voyage."

"The travel have been good enough, but we had a problem at our arrival. Have you taken into account our complains about the encampment." Said sharply the duke Adrian.

Kai was going to reply but Elsa stopped him with a wave of her hand. "Please may you be so gently to clarify your reasons to dislike your encampment. My own seneschal checked that it was well placed, provided with water and big enough for your large retinue"

"The problem is not the encampment but the neighborgs."

"The neighborgs?" Asked Elsa with innocent expression.

"Yes the Lituanians."

"I am sorry but I don't understand. You are in peace with them. You have even signed a military alliance against the tartars with them. They should be the perfect neigborgs for you." While talking, Elsa observed the reactions of the other imperials, but Ladislas and Berganza remained impassive.

"You don't understand, we were at war with them a few years ago. The Lithuanians are an aggressive. people and a little bit out of control. If they are our neighborgs problems will arise. His leader even tried to kill my brother, the imperial candidate to princes Anna's hand.

The duke turned around and looked for somebody. "Captain Simonyi? Where are you?" He asked in surprise.

Elsa saw a man moving forward from the rear of the imperial delegation. He was a little bit taller than Berganza and slender. His hussar uniform was black from tip to toe. The only glimmers of color were the white trimmed hedges of the jacket which he wore hanging from his left shoulder, and a silver death head on his helmet, which he was holding at his side over his left arm. He had a fair face but his blue eyes were cold as ice and his manners suggested some inner tension as if he was ready to blow up, but his movements were elegant and fluid.

"Let me introduce my brother. Captain Erick Simonyi of the 50th of hussars. Tell us Captain, is it not true that prince Vladimiras, the Lithuanian leader, try to kill you?"

The captain dubiously gazed at the duke and the Queen. "It is water under the bridge,we were at war."

"So, he tried to kill you." Replied the duke with a triumphant look in his eyes.

"We were in a battle fighting in opposite sides. It is usual to try killing each other in those situations. I am sure you know it, don't you? Regarding what you have told about the Lithuanians being out of control you don't have to care about it. Prince Vladimiras is a superb leader and a noble man, his men will be peaceful like sheep."

The duke Adrian didn't try to hide his surprise. "I have been told that you nearly die due to your wounds." He said obviously puzzled. "I'm sure he used some dirty trick against you."

Erick gazed at him for a while considering his answer. "No, I try to stab him in the back, but he was smarter and nearly cut off my head." The captain finished his reply in irritation, putting aside his former caution.

"You seem very fond of him, being a person who nearly killed you." Suddenly asked Anna. Elsa stiffened. She would have preferred to left the Imperials quarreling among them.

Erick turned towards the princess, Elsa thought that a smile appeared on his lips, but the grim, if any, disappeared before she could be sure. "After three years trying to kill each other without success, we have developed certain mutual respect. We can say that we are 'best enemies'." The captain's lips curved in a sardonic smile. "Sometimes a good enemy is better than a bad friend... or relative." He completed turning towards her brother.

Elsa raised from the throne. "Well, I think that this solves the issue of your encampment. Unless you fear that your man can be out of control. Do you?" Asked Elsa talking to Ladislas the imperial delegate.

"I agree with you that, after Captain Simonyi explanation, we can left the subject apart." Replied Ladislas while looking at both stepbrothers. He was calm but Erick was sure that he was furious with him and his stepbrother. Berganza instead looked at the scene with great interest, and a faint smile on his face.


	10. The English at Last

Anna sighted and slumped into an armchair. "We have finished at last."

"Yes." Said Elsa massaging her stiff neck.

The reception of the last delegation, a young Belgian count who was claiming Anna's hand, had finished a moment ago and both sisters were in the library relaxing before the ball. "I know it is important to cover Corrado's maneuver, but I wish we could just go to sleep." Said Elsa with a tired voice.

"Well a ball is a ball and this will be the greatest ball we have ever seen in Arendelle, but I would sincerely have preferred missing it." Said Anna with a faint smile.

"Look on the bright side. Kristoff wears the uniform." Said Elsa pouring cold tea from a teapot in a china cup. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"No, thanks. Poor Kristoff, he feels so uncomfortable clad in it, but he looks so well."

Elsa smiled at those words. "He had good shoulders, the uniform suits him." She replied, looking at the picture of their father's coronation who was clad in the same uniform. Kai had opposed, saying that Kristoff wasn't a member of the royal family, but Elsa had cut short the discussion.

"He had struggled hard the last year, and he deserves to wear that uniform." Said Elsa, taking a sip of tea.

Anna looked at her sister. Much to Anna's surprise, Elsa and Kristoff had become close friends. The awkward mountain man and the graceful Queen of Arendelle had had a hard year. Both weren't used to interact with people and had found in each other a friend through thick and thin while Elsa had been learning how to interact with her own people and Kristoff getting used to live in a castle.

"Both of you have had a hard year." Said Anna.

Elsa gave a sigh and turned from the picture. "And we are going to have harder times. What do you think of the candidates?"

"Do you want them listed by how much they had displeased me or by how old they are "

"I suppose that Von Schrader, the Prussian will be high on both lists."

"Yes, he is sixty years old, but, much to my surprise, he is not the oldest one!"

"But he told interesting things about you and that group of hussars. Why didn't you call the guards instead of confronting them in the village?"

"Come on Elsa. All the guards were in the imperial reception, anyway I wasn't in danger."

Elsa frowned. It was obvious that she didn't agree with Anna's opinion.

"According to Kai, he is the official candidate of the English." Said Anna, trying to change the subject.

"No. The official candidate of the English is another person that Lord Halkett hasn't even presented at the reception. The French will never accept an English candidate nor the English a French one. So they present a nobody just as a formality. They have a non official candidate that they really support and Von Shrader is the non official, official candidate of the English."

Anna thought for a second. "I dislike him anyway. But he is not the first in the list. This place is for Konrad the King from the southern isles."

"Yes, his likeness with Hans is disturbing." Said Elsa.

"And who is the official unofficial... well the real candidate of the French?"

"His name is Elias Gonzaga but he was not present. Instead his mother lady Gonzaga,widow of a grandee of Spain,..." Elsa said the last words in a pretentious tone of voice, imitating the proud woman. "come on his behalf."

"Why wasn't he present in the reception?"

"I don't know. Maybe, the boy is shy." Replied Elsa with a bit of irony in her voice.

"Or maybe, he also thought that this situation is humiliating. In the end, he is also being forced to marry."

"Don't bet on it." Elsa replied with a doubtful expression

"Yes..." Anna remained silent for a moment. "But not all the candidates were so disgusting, Prince Vladimiras is quite young, taking into account the age of the other candidates, and he is impressive. I mean he is taller than Kristoff and handsome, seems that he have disembarked from an old Norse warlords history."

"It's because he isn't your candidate. Would you marry him instead of Kristtof."

"Of course not." Anna giggled. "I am thinking about the imperial captain who tried to kill him and was nearly killed. The captain must be brave if he tried to kill the prince, even if he did it from the back. The Captain is just a few inches taller than you and thin. Prince Vladimiras is twice his weight."

"His name was Erick, Erick Simonyi." Replied Elsa. "I suppose a battle is not a gentle place, and chivalrous behavior in combat is limited to faery tales. But that man seems to hate his own kind and to love his had the concepts a little bit confused, but I understand he dislikes his brother. Duke Adrian is an unpleasant person, something in his eyes makes me shiver."

In that moment, there was a knock at the door. "Come in." Said Elsa.

Kai entered into the room. "Lord Howart Halkett has asked for a meeting with you and your sister."

"Now!" Said Anna annoyed."After three hours receiving husbands to be, I'm too tired even for a conversation with Corrado let alone him."

Elsa thought for a moment."I suppose that this is his intention. He expects us to be too tired to receive him in good conditions or even a refusal."

"I fear that you are going to say that we must receive him." Said Anna with bleak voice.

"Kai. Let him in." Said Elsa while Anna rose to her feet giving a snort of disgust.

Lord Howard Halkett entered in the room so stiff and solemn as he had been in the official reception. He bowed in front of Elsa.

"Queen Elsa, princess Anna. Excuse me to disturb you after a day so exhausting but I answer your call as soon as my health allows me to come."

"Thanks Lord Halkett, I hope we can clarify some aspects of the conference".

"I am at your disposal." Replied the English.

"We, me and my sister, are a little bit surprised by the sudden interest of England in Arendelle. We have always been proud of our neutrality and we thought that England was interested in maintaining us neutrals."

"And that is the interest of England my dear ladies. Arendelle neutrality is one of the main objectives of the conference. I can assure that.

"But the official position of England until now had been not to interfere in Arendelle internal affairs."

"You have to understand that until now Arendelle was a harmless country, but now the situation is entirely different. Now, the future alliances of Arendelle worry London."

"Even with our long neutrality record?"

"Last year Arendelle get the attention of all the European courts. Who could forecast who will marry you or your sister and henceforth would control Arendelle politics?"

"You are supposing that my future husband would control Arendelle."

For a second a faint smile appeared on Lord Halkett lips. "There would be too much risk involved if we took into account anything else."

"England will be appeased if I assure you that I am not going to marry."

"Maybe in the short term, you would not marry, but what will happen in the future?

"I am not going to marry neither in the short nor the long term."

"Anyway, England can not depend on the plans of a young woman who is only twenty two years old. You may change your mind in the future. Truth to be told, after seeing you this evening, I am sure you would have plenty of proposals, and the wealth of Arendelle wouldn't be the only reason."

Elsa ignored the compliment."Are you sure that the husband you choose will be neutral enough? Arendelle has maintained its neutrality during generations. Why to interfere in something that works."

"The main objective of the conference is to find a husband who ensures Arendelle neutrality. Don't worry Queen Elsa. You can be sure that we will choose the best possible husband for you. This conference has gathered together some of the best diplomats in Europe."

"What about my sister? If England's only concern is the neutrality of Arendelle I can't see any sense in marry her. She don't hold any position."

"Well, I don't know if you have realized that some candidates to your hand are heirs to important titles of the European nobility."

"Yes, this is another question I want to clarify, how are we going to reconcile this. They cannot move from their lands and I am bound to..." Suddenly Elsa stopped talking.

"I see you have understood. It is quite possible that you have to leave Arendelle to be with your husband. So your sister marriage is also important. But don't worry about that, my dear ladies, it is only a possibility. You have to know that we, the diplomats, are always taking in account possibilities that seldom, if ever, happens." He said that with a thin smile in his face.

"I don't want to take more of your time, with your permission I leave you." Lord Halkket got up and bowed his head. "Don't worry Queen Elsa. We will help you to fulfill your duty with Arendelle."

Elsa hardly restrained herself from replying him, and she just dismissed Lord Halket waving her hand.

"What do you think about the possibility of leaving Arendelle?" Asked Anna when Lord Halkett left the library.

"That it is not a possibility. I have received the rumor that England wanted me to be away of Arendelle and all the courts of Europe were aware. That's the reason because my candidates are heirs or holders of great titles in Europe and yours aren't the heirs or have minor titles."

"But Adrian, the imperial candidate to your hand, is just a Duke."

"That's right but his dukedom is far greater, wealthier and more important than Arendelle."

"If you knew that why don't you told me it." Anna couldn't help a mild reproach in her voice.

"Because I wasn't sure. We don't have a real diplomatic network. When our parents died Arendelle's chief of diplomacy died with them. We are a little country and all our network was based on his personal contacts. The last months I have been trying to get every little bit of information about the conference. I get a lot of rumors, most of them contradictory."

"By example the reason to organize all this conference. Some sources said that the main reason is timber. "

"Timber?"

"Yes, timber. Our father used to say that the position of Arendelle in the concert of nations depended always on the timber market. Now England and France are competing for the timber of Arendelle."

"Are you sure of that.?"

"I'm not sure of anything. All my information comes from unreliable sources. I have heard some rumors talking about an unofficial communication from England. They will not accept a candidate for me that would establish himself in Arendelle. The only detail he has said I was unaware is the reason to marry you. It had been a surprise that they wanted it because I have to be away. This bothers me."

"Why?"

"Because they don't only want to send me far away. They have also planned something for Arendelle through your husband to be and that annoys me."

"I see." Anna said with a worried voice. "Do you think they expect to control Arendelle's timber through my husband?"

"What else! Timber is the only thing in Arendelle which they value enough. We must sound the French delegate out about..."

In that moment Kai knocked at the door. "The ball is about to start." Both sisters nodded and Kai left the room closing the door behind him.

They were about to left the room, after getting ready, when Anna stoped suddenly. "And what do you mean with that silly thing you have said about you don't plan to marry in your whole life."

Elsa was about to open the door, but she turned to reply to her younger sister."It's true. Be serious Anna. I'm not a normal person. Who will want to marry me?" She nodded towards the door. "Only them, and they want to marry with Arendelle's wealth."

"You are normal Elsa. Why couldn't you marry if you wanted?"

"Just to give you a hint, touch my skin. It is always cold." Said Elsa, stretching out her hand.

"I already know that, it is just a little cold. I have a colder temperature when I return from a walk during a snowy day."

"Maybe, but it is not normal in the middle of the summer. And what about my powers what can I do in a given moment? Who would share his life with a person who could kill him by mistake if I lose control when... whenever we were together. "

"Why have you to loose control? You have controlled your powers."

"Anna, some relations between men and women may imply certain loss of control. Mom didn't talk you about it?" Elsa couldn't help a hint of irony in her voice, but her smile was brittle.

Anna was taken aback by the frankness of the reply. "I'm sure you won't be dangerous."

"Are you an expert on this issue? There've been anything I have to know between you and Kristoff?" Elsa was obviously tense.

"Somebody may think that you are worth the risk."

" But I'm not going to afford such a risk. Anyway everybody sees me as the snow queen and fear me, they remember that I almost froze Arendelle to death a year ago. They don't dare to talk to me, even the kids. And, in addition, my life don't make me an expert in personal relationships. I have assumed not to marry."

"But Elsa! Your handling of the reception, with all these extrangers, have been outstanding! Why do you say that. You can handle any relation!"

"In the reception I'm the Queen, and it is an easy role. I have been trained all my life to play it. But being just Elsa is not so easy." Elsa shook her head. "I have assumed that I will live alone, enjoying your happiness with Kristoff." Elsa's expression softened. "You have been lucky to meet him, but he has been even luckier."

"But..."

"Enough, Anna." Interrupted Elsa in a curt tone of voice again." I'm not angry about my marriage because I want to select another person. I'm angry because it is so humiliating being manipulated in such a way."

Anna was too indignant to take Elsa's tone of voice into account. "And who would inherit the crown after you if you maintained that silly idea?" She said trying to find an argument valid for Elsa.

"Well" An sly smile appeared on Elsa's face. "Regarding future generations, I count with you to cover that gap. I am sure that Kristoff will be willing to help you in this point." Saying that, Elsa opened the door to meet Kai, who was waiting in the corridor, putting and end to the conversation and leaving behind her an astonished Anna.


	11. The First Ball

The main hall was crowned. Only the candidates and the important members of the delegations had been allowed to be there. The other people were in the section of the courtyard covered with ice vaults which had been set up to be used as dancing hall. Great lamps have been hanged from the ice vaults and their lights were reflected by the smooth inner surface of the high roofs. The orchestra had been placed in one of the great balconies, so the music could be heard inside and outside.

Elsa and Anna entered after being announced by Kai. Everybody stop talking and bowed. They stood by the throne. Elsa waved her hand and the orchresta started to play.

Few women had come with the different delegations. Aristocratic families from all Norway had come with her sons and daughters, but anyway women were scarce. So the men in the hall quickly moved to get a dancing partner.

Kristoff approached to the dais and went upstairs."You do it very well in the reception."Said the mountainman fighting with his tight collar with one of his fingers.

"Thank you Kristoff." Replied Elsa. She can't avoid smiling at the captivated expression of Anna looking at Kristoff clad in the dress uniform of Arendelle. "Anna, Kristoff, why don't you dance?"

"You don't mind?" Quickly replied Anna.

"Of course! If somebody approaches me with a priest, I would call the guards." Joked Elsa, beaming.

Anna took along Kristoff to the center of the hall and they started to dance. Elsa looked at them for a while and then went downwards the dais in order to locate Christian Mullon, the French delegate.

"Queen Elsa!" A man's voice came from behind.

Elsa turned to find the imposing figure of prince Vladimiras. The man was more than an entire head taller than Elsa. His green dress uniform and the long bearskin cloak hanging from his shoulders made him an even more impressive figure. Elsa was momentarily taken aback.

"Good evening, Queen Elsa. Excuse my boldness, but I have been told that the imperials have complained by the disposition of the encampments. " His French was very good, but with a thick accent.

Elsa feared another complaint about the imperial complaint and being entangled in a silly discussion. Protocol issues were so enervating and fruitless. "Good evening Prince Vladimiras, whatever you have heard you don't have to worry."

"You don't understand me, If moving my men is needed, please tell me and I will raise a complaint about any minor problem in the encampment situation, so we would solve this silly question without further discussions. "

Elsa looked surprised. By doing so they could move the Lithuanians without offending them. "Thank you, it is very kind of you. In a situation like this, people usually would just make , a formal complain against the Empire."

"When I had to complain about the empire, I would have far better reasons." His voice was gentle but something in the tone was cold as ice. "But I don't want to talk about the empire I would prefer to have the pleasure of the next dance."

"I am sorry, but I don't dance."

The Lithuanian prince didn't look offended by the refusal. "Don't worry, I prefer to talk with you for a while. If we are supposed to be married, getting to know each other would be good."

"You have nine competitors." Replied Elsa, but she can't help smiling at the Prince's boldness.

"I will deal with that detail, but now I would like to get to know you. But truth to be told I am not used to this kind of situations, and I am not sure about the correct way to behave."

"You have adapted quickly enough. Have all your men adapted so quickly to be in Arendelle?"

"Well it is quite different from Lithuania."

"Why?"

"Lithuania has been isolated too much. This is a problem for us. We lag behind the western countries, and we suffered that in the last war against the empire. My country needs to open to the west, to be modernized to be more like the western countries, more like Arendelle."

"But I suppose that something like this will be difficult. It is not an easy task to change an entire country." The conversation was arousing Elsa's curiosity. The only facts she knew about Lithuania were that it was an isolated country, not very well integrated into the commercial networks of the Baltic sea, although it had a wide coastline on that sea.

"Well, a lot of people in Lithuania follow the old ways. I am doing what I am allowed to do. I hope everything will be easier when I am the king."

"Doesn't your father share your ideas about Lithuania."

The prince smiled at the question, as if it had pleased him. "No, he loves tradition, and besides, he hasn't had time enough to get an idea of the changes I am going to do.

"Did you tell him your opinions about Lithuania not long ago?"

"No, he knows I don't fit in the older ways from my childhood, but I was not supposed to be King until my two elder brothers died in the war against the empire."

"I am sorry."

"Thank you. Now, I am the first in the line of succession, and my father has to accept that I have rather different ideas about the future of Lithuania."

"You have a heavy burden on your shoulders. You have my sympathies. Wearing a crown isn't easy."

"Yes, And the weight may be even heavier for my Queen."

"What do you mean?" Elsa had relaxed a bit during the conversation with Vladimiras, but she tensed up again.

"My country is a very special country and its Queen must be exceptional. A westerner queen would represent the West for my people. The appropriate woman could make everything easier."

" And the inappropriate woman could make everything worse. Tell me Princess Vladimiras, do you really think that I, the snow queen, am the appropriate woman for such a part. Would your people see me as a westerner or just like the representation of winter?"

"Until I have talked with you I didn't believe that you were fitted for the task. But now..."

"Now?"

"I hope they wouldn't see neither the westerner nor the snow queen. They will see just you. You are impressive enough to override the other options."

"You flatter me." Said Elsa sincerely pleased. "But why you come to Arendelle if you didn't believe that I was fit."

"Because my father ordered me to marry you."

Elsa couldn't help being taken aback by the sincerity of the reply.

"Did you expect a more romantic answer?"

"Since we have never met before, it wasn't a very plausible option." She answered with a reflective look in her eyes."Maybe I had expected a more formal answer. But during the reception, I have had formal answers enough. Your sincerity is welcomed."

* * *

Anna and Kristoff were in the middle of the hall dancing while King Konrad of the southern isles and his brother observed them.

"Is he the fishmonger?"Asked Konrad.

"He is an ice seller. And yes, he is Anna's couple." Replied Stephan.

"Why do they dress him with the royal livery? He isn't a member of the royal family, and being the lover of a Princess doesn't grant him the right to wear those clothes."

"Don't care so much with petty details. Have you already committed suicide talking with the French?"

"I will meet Mullon later, and he is most interested."

"Of course he is! You, a key ally of England in Scandinavia, are offering him your head."

* * *

The count Friedrich von Schrader had a pain in his foot. He had been walking with just a cane and the gout was taking its toll. He took a deep breath and maintained his smile while crossing the room. He had been talking with the Bavarian Prince, and now he was heading towards a Hessian Count. Half Germany was in Arendelle and the old count was going to take profit of this.

He met Otto and leaned on his shoulder to pull himself together, before talking with the Hessian.

"Uncle, are you all right?"

"Apart from the fact that my foot seems to be about to explode, I'm fine. Have you seen the mountain man." The old Count nodded towards Anna and Kristoff. The dance had finished, and Kristoff had left Anna, going towards a group of Norwegian nobles. Anna was looking at her sister who was talking with the Lithuanian Prince.

"They should be crazy to provoke the English in such a way. Princess Anna's couple clad in the royal livery of Arendelle. It is a declaration of war for Lord Halkett."

"Bah..." Said the Count. "He is going to marry them with whoever he considers the most suitable suitor. Nothing they could do would change that, and at least, they have defied him." Concluded the old hussar, with a look of approval at the lonely figure of Anna in the middle of the hall.

* * *

"Excuse me, what are you talking about." Allan Halkett interrupted his old friend Kurt von Schrader in the middle of his explanation.

"Allan, what are you thinking about?" Replied the young German giggling. "Since the beginning of the ball you are absent, your mind is in another place."

"I am just a little bit tired. It has been a long travel. Now tell me, you were talking about another crumbling ruin."

"Yes, uncle Friedrich told me that this is not the original castle of the dynasty of Arendelle. There was a previous one in the coast."

"I didn't know he was interested in Arendelle's history."

"You would be surprised how meticulous he is. He has spent a good deal of time studying Arendelle's history. He even recommended me asking Queen Elsa's permission to visit the fortress."

"Well, If you Are going to get permission from the Queen, the best thing to do is talking with her." Alan nodded his head towards the throne. In front of the stairs of the dais, over which the throne was placed, Elsa was talking with Vladimiras the Prince of Lithuania.

Elsa was a tall woman, but her slender figure was exceeded by the taller and bulky Lithuanian.

"You could challenge him to get the right to speak with the Queen." Joked Allan.

"Even if I was able to defeat such a warrior I would prefer to wait until they finished their conversation. It's easier." Kurt looked at the Queen talking with the Lithuanian. "She is fascinating!"

"Hey! You are interested in something different that ruins."

The young German clicked his tongue while shaking his head."Have you noticed the Queen didn't wear a crown on her head."

"Well, I recognize that I pay attention to other features when looking at a woman. Do you think this is so important?"

"Usually, Kings and Queens care a lot about those details. They would sleep with their crowns on, if it was possible. Seeing a Queen without a crown is quite extrange"

"Maybe there is no crown in Arendelle."

"Come with me!" Said Kurt heading to the door which connected the great hall to the room where they have been waiting few hours ago to be received by the queen. Now, the room was being used as a extension of the ballroom and was crowded. After crossing the door, Kurt stopped in front of a great picture hanging on the wall at his right. "The crown of Arendelle." He said, waving his hand.

Allan gazed at the picture. It was a life sized portrait of the Queen of Aredelle sitting on her throne with her sister standing at her right. Elsa held in her hands the orb and scepter of Arendelle. Anna's left hand was over Elsa's right arm. The picture was really good and caught the features and expression of both girls. The Queen wore a crown of gold and jewels on her head.

"So this is the crown of Arendelle." Said the English.

"Don't you imagine where it is?"

"Maybe it was lost a year ago. I have been told that the coronation ceremony was rather troubled."

"Maybe, but in a year, a reply would have been done."

"Well, I give up. Why don't she wear the dammed crown?"

"I haven't the foggiest idea!" Replied Kurt smiling. "But it is not the only mystery. Look at Princess Anna's feet."

Allan looked at the picture, and saw a shattered sword painted in front of Anna's feet. "Maybe is it an old family symbol?" Said Allan, looking uncertain.

"Then it would be also displayed in other pictures of previous Kings and Queens of Arendelle. There are a lot of them in different rooms of the castle and this is the only one with a shattered sword. And look at the throne."

Allan gazed with interest. "It is made of ice!"

"Yes it's a replica of the throne of Arendelle in ice. I suppose it is appropriate for the Snow Queen." Kurt looked through the window at the ice covered roofs of the castle towers. "Althought it is a petty thing compared with the replica of the Upper Belvedere she have put over the castle."

"The Belvedere?" Asked Allan.

"It is a palace in Vienna."

"How have you realized all these details?" Asked Allan looking at the picture.

"Well, Kings and Queens need to make public their intentions regarding the future through pictures and other stuff like this. I am used to decipher them when I travel through the German Confederation. It is easy to know what the rulers of a country fear or desire through symbols like this."

Allan looked at his friend with interest. "And do you travel often to the German Confederation?"

"Well, I use to go to different countries to perform my investigations."

"It's true what I have been told that you are a spy for your uncle."

"I'm a goodwill ambassador on behalf of my uncle, and the King of Prussia. The German kingdoms are like brothers there is no sense talking about spies. "

"They would also be brothers if they form an alliance with the Austrians?"

"Of course!"

"And your investigations include studying the fortresses?"

"Of course, Do you know that I study the architecture of the ancient fortresses."

"Only the ancient ones? Or you also visit the modern ones. "

"Well whatever which is interesting enough." Kurt seemed uneasy.

"When you return of your travels, I'm sure your uncle listen to whatever you have to say with great interest."

"You are talking no sense." Said Kurt, but he had stopped smiling.

Allan gave Kurt a pat on the back. "Don't worry." Right then, he saw Anna leaving the ballroom through the door, they have crossed a little while ago. "If you want to ask permission to visit the other fortress this is the moment." He said to Kurt.

Kurt looked to the young princess and smiled, he seemed rather pleased to change the subject of the conversation. "Well, we can try, the permission of a princess would be quite enough."

Anna had just gotten rid of a suitor, a Polish count who was too much attentive, and was looking for Kristoff. They had parted after dancing because Kristoff wanted to talk with an acquaintance from a neighboring kingdom. A count that was very fond of traveling through the wilderness who always liked to talk with Kristoff. Anna, while waiting for Kristoff, had been addressed by the young count.

She couldn't see Kristoff in the ballroom, maybe he had gone to a quieter place. Elsa and Kristoff used to leave together from official ceremonies, when it was possible, to talk in a place without people, since both disliked crowded places. Elsa liked Kristtof's common sense and quiet nature, and the mountain man, much to Anna's satisfaction, liked Elsa's cleverness and kindness towards both of them.

But Anna had seen Elsa talking with the tall prince from Lithuania. She didn't look upset at all. In fact, she was even laughing with him. So Kristoff had gone on their own. It was a problem since it was easier to locate them together. They always went to the same places. But Kristoff alone was far more difficult to find. Anna's couple could be anywhere in the castle from the kitchen talking with the cook to the high balconies over the roofs, enjoying the sensation of being under the stars.

The princess had gone to the waiting hall in the hope that she could find Kristoff there, unsuccessfully. She decided that it was useless to search him, anyway she wanted to be with her sister. Anna was about to return to the ballroom, when a tall man with a thick black beard and a broad smile on his face approached her.

"Princess Anna." Said the man slightly bowing his head.

Anna looked at the young man, but she couldn't recognize him. "I'm sorry. I'm sure that I have seen you during the reception, but I don't remember your name." She said smiling.

"Don't worry. I have been in the receptions, but I have not been presented officially. My name is Kurt von Schrader, and I am the nephew of Count Friedrich von Schrader."

Anna had to conceal her displeasure at the name of the old Count. When the count had appeared in the reception, she hasn't known whether to laugh or cry.

Another man, clad in the British navy uniform walked beside Kurt. "Let me introduce my fri..." Started to say the young German.

"I recognize you!" Interrupted Anna. "You are the nephew of Lord Howard Halkett, Allan Halkett." Anna realized too late that the captain had not been officially presented during the reception. Kai had explained to both sisters who was the young captain at the side of the English dignitary. So it might be strange that she recognized him.

"You have a good memory!" Replied the naval officer, visibly pleased of being recognized.

Anna smiled at him avoiding to say that any relative of Lord Howard Halkket will be remembered as a potential danger.

"Excuse me my daring, but I have told that an old stone castle still remains in Arendelle."

"A stone castle?" Said Anna, looking surprised at the young German. "You must be mistaken. This is the only castle in Arendelle."

"It may be crumbling, or maybe you don't know it was a castle."

"As a matter of fact, the more crumbling the better." Interrupted Allan.

Anna's face lit up. "Maybe you are talking about the old watchtower. But there only remain a few scattered stones."

Kurt was going to reply, but Allan got in before him. "If you added that it is in remote and isolated place in the middle of nowhere, he couldn't help immediately setting off to the watchtower."

Anna couldn't avoid smiling at the annoyed expression of Kurt. She couldn't help liking the young German. Something in his joyful face and warm manners won everybody's affection.

"I would like your permission to visit the place. I'm studying the old Scandinavian fortresses and so few of them are made in stone." Said Kurt.

"Of course you can visit it, but I think you will be disappointed. Nothing remains of the old building."

"Don't worry I know how to read the secrets of those old buildings." Kurt face was beaming with joy.

Anna smiled back. He was so different to his uncle. Suddenly he had a crazy idea so crazy that she couldn't help trying. "I would like to come with you."

"Excuseme?" Replied the young German surprised.

"I would like to see how do you read those secrets. Would you mind if I come with you?"

"Of course you can come with us, it will be our pleasure" Allan quickly said.

Kurt nodded while looking at his friend. He was surprised by Allan's eagerness to go with the young princess of Arendelle.


	12. Ladies' Conversation

At last, Elsa could leave the main hall. According to the protocol, it was late enough not to seem discourteous, and she was really tired. Anna had left the hall an hour before towards the gates to wait for Kristoff. Kai had told them that her boyfriend had been called by Corrado, the Italian needed somebody who knows how to move loaded animals by night in the wilderness. During the rest of the ball, Elsa could tell that Anna's mind had been out of the castle.

As soon as protocol allowed it, maybe before, Elsa had told Anna to leave. Both sisters would meet later in the library. After that, the Queen had a last conversation with a group of Arendelle's nobility before leaving the ball and heading towards the library.

The Queen has just gone out of the main hall, when she saw her image reflected in a mirror. She felt a sudden displeasure caused by her dress. Before the reception she had joked with Anna about it. Both sisters had nicknamed it Elsa's diplomatic gear. But now, so flamboyant and impressive, after more than nine hours dealing with strangers, Elsa couldn't recognize her own reflection in the mirror. She could see the Snow Queen, but where was Elsa?

For a moment, she missed her coronation gown, but she pushed aside a wisp of her bangs and pulled herself together. "This isn't the time to hide." She thought. "I need a rest and a long talk with Anna". Then she had a glimpse of the French delegate in a little room adjacent to the main hall. Elsa doubted for a second. The day has been exhausting and every bit of his body was claiming to retire to the library. But it may be a golden opportunity to make clear the French intentions. If only he was more willing to enter into negotiations than the English. The Queen thought in Anna, took a deep breath and knocked at the door.

"Come in." Said the voice of the French dignitary.

Elsa entered into the room. "Oh!" She said, feigning surprise. "I am sorry. I have been told that my sister was here. Christian Mullon, the french delegate, and Madam Gonzaga, the mother of the Spanish candidate stood in the middle of the room. A young man was seated on a couch with a strange expression on his face. A tall man clad in a dark green uniform was attending to him. The young man seemed anxious.

"Don't worry, Queen Elsa. It is always a pleasure to meet you, and anyway, I owe you a meeting." Said the French delegate with a broad smile on his face. "Of course if you were too tired we could postpone it till tomorrow."

"Now it's perfect." Said Elsa.

"Please Pedro, could you wait outside?" Said Mullon to the man clad in dark green. "And take him along." Added the french nodding his head towards the young man.

"No! Pedro, left him with us. He is too tired to wait in the hallway." Madam Gonzaga curtly ordered.

Pedro nodded and left the room. The young man tried to retain the soldier at his side, but Madam Gonzaga sat by and comforted him as if he was a child. Elsa remembered the mentally retarded young man whom Anna had viewed in the morning walking through Arendelle. "So he is a relative of the Spanish candidate, maybe a brother." Thought Elsa.

"I want to have a talk with you about some details of the conference." Said Elsa to Mullon, looking at the young man and madam Gonzaga.

"Whatever you have to say about the conference, you can say it before madam Gonzaga. Our positions are the same." Said Christian, concealing his irritation. Elias had problems adapting to Arendelle, the long travel and the new environment had sunk him in a continuous state of excitement, therefore it have been impossible for him to stay in the encampment. And his mother, so clever and cold in other issues, was absolutely irrational on anything regarding her son.

Elsa felt Gonzaga's victorious look. "Talking about it, what is the official position of France regarding Arendelle?" Asked Elsa.

"Truth to be told, the official position of France is that we don't have an official position. " Replied Mullon.

"Sorry but I don't understand you."

"In this issue I have to say that England is the main instigator. France is here to ensure that everything is solved in a correct and fair way. But we don't have real interests in Arendelle. That history going around that we will use Arendelle to invade England is a no sense. "

"Does England share your point of view about the possibility of an invasion?"

"Please, ask Lord Halket about that. I cannot talk in behalf of England. "

"So, are you trying to tell me that France has come here only to sit and watch what happens? All this issue is an interference in the internal affairs of a neutral country."

"Obviously we are not going to sit and watch. France is here, in fact, to be sure that Arendelle is fairly treated. Don't worry Queen Elsa, I will do my best to ensure that you and your sister get good husbands for Arendelle. But take into account that the Scandinavian peninsula is mainly under English influence. My options here are scarce." While telling that, Mullon smiled as if he was offering a great opportunity to Elsa.

Elsa remained silent for a moment. It was obvious that the French delegate wasn't going to give any useful information. She decided to change the subject to more frivolous matters, and include Madam Gonzaga in the conversation. Maybe in this way she could get a glimmer of Mullon's intentions.

"Talking about husbands to be and current candidates." Said Elsa turning to the woman. "I haven't met the Spanish candidate yet. Is he ill?"

Madam Gonzaga was about to reply, but Mullon interrupted her. "He feels a bit indisposed. I think it is better to delay your meeting a few days."

Madam Gonzaga frowned at the French dignitary."I think it is useless to wait. Both are in the same room they might have an informal first contact." Gonzaga was getting upset about the way Christian looked at the Queen. The young Queen, clad in her lavish imperial style dress looked gorgeous, and Christian had been always perceptive to female beauty.

"In the same room?" Elsa can't help looking around the room, searching another person who she hadn't seen yet. At last Elsa gazed the young man on the couch, and her face turned pale. "He is your candidate." Elsa said in a whisper.

"Of course he is our candidate!" Said madam Gonzada angrily. "What did you expect? He will give you healthy sons."

Elsa was speechless, but Gonzaga's last words roused her anger. "Now, I am sure that you will do your best to get a husband for me Mister Mullon." Said Elsa with bitter irony.

"You and me are women of noble lineages." Went on madam Gonzaga, not allowing Mullon to step in. "I suppose that you will be on a par with your ancestors and will do your duty. Beautiful histories about charming princes are for children and we left our childhood behind time ago."

" That is true, but I have to recognize that my memories regarding those histories are more recent than yours." Replied Elsa shooting a fierce glance at the woman.

Gonzaga stiffened and replied Elsa's words with a disdainful grimace. She was going to answer, but Christian intervened. "We are too tired. It has been a long day and we need a rest. With your permission Queen Elsa we will retire to our rooms."

Elsa nodded and they left the room. When they were outside Mullon took D'Arbanville arm. "You are a quite smart person. Why do you behave like a fool when your son is involved? The scene you have made with the Queen has been useless, and now she will be against us."

"And you wanted to lock my son up in his room. Did you think no one would realize?" The woman nodded towards the room, they had just left. "Anyway you always say that her opinion won't be taken into account. Or are you looking for something else?"

"The later they realize it, the better. In diplomacy, every detail is important, and a deceived friend is better than a sincere enemy."

"Mother, what happens?" Asked Elias, obviously afraid. Mullon and d'Arbanvile have been arguing sharply and the boy, even don't understanding, could feel the strain between them. Pedro was trying to calm him down.

Mullon took a brief look at the frightened boy." As I said before it has been a long day. Let's go to our rooms"

Madam Gonzaga put her arm around Elias' shoulders and took him off while trying to calm him.

Inside the room, once alone, Elsa sat on the couch. "Be sarcastic is useless." She thought. "I have to control my temper. She tried to remember her father's advice about diplomacy, but instead she remembered the old litany to control his powers. "Don't let them in. Don't let them see." How appropriate these words were in diplomatic affairs.

The door flung open and Anna entered into the room, her face beaming after talking with Kristoff. "Elsa? Kai told me that you were here with... Elsa! What has happened? Are you fine?" Anna's breath looked like smoke in the cold air. The room lights had dimmed and the air was limpid with the emptiness of a clear winter night in a snowy mountain. Ana felt the cold through her thin dress when she approached to Elsa, and knelt in front of her. Elsa raised her eyes and looked at Anna in the faint light, trying to find something to say. Something that would hide the harsh reality from her younger sister.

"Anna, he is the candidate." She said at last.

" Who?"

"The boy you see lost in the crowd who was mentally retarded. He is the Spanish candidate and is supported by the french."

"Are you joking?" Asked Anna in surprise.

"I wish it was a joke. Mullon tried to hide it, but Madam Gonzaga, the mother of the boy, stated it clear enough. I couldn't do anything for you and Kristoff. They look down on us and don't want to negotiate. This is a nightmare! " Elsa was trying to pull herself together, but her voice broke saying the last words.

Anna, speechless, hugged her elder sister as Elsa used to do when Anna was four years old, before the accident which parted them.


	13. Best Enemies

Vladimiras had gone out of the castle to stroll about the gardens. He couldn't avoid staring in amazement to the ice vaults which covered the most of the courtyard. Great lamps hanged from the ice roofs, and their light reflected on them giving to the gardens a strange atmosphere almost magical. "A faerie castle for a faerie Queen." Thought Vladimiras.

He moved away, searching for peace and quiet. The people were crammed around the tables and under the balcony from which the musics were playing, but great areas of the garden were empty.

In the sections distant from the keep, the faerie atmosphere were even greater. Vladimiras remembered he first time he beheld the ice castle. The night before everything was normal, but in the morning the ice castle was there. For Vladimiras it had been a shock. One thing is to hear about the Snow Queen. But seeing her powers in action was quite another mater.

Since then, something changed in the encampments, everyone was fully aware that they were, as Steponas said, in the lands of Winter. And the meeting with Elsa of Arendelle have been whatever he had imagined and more. A Queen like that would be a shock for Lithuania. He hoped he has made a good impression. How was he supposed to talk to the Queen of Winter? He had chosen to be sincere, he intuitively knew that trying to cheat such a woman would be foolish."

"Hello, Prince Vladimiras!" Said a voice speaking in Lithuanian. Vladimiras turned around in surprise, he hadn't seen anybody approaching. Then he spotted a figure clad in black into a group of bushes.

"Hello Captain Simonyi." Replied Vladimiras. "Where are you hiding?" The young hussar was in the middle of the thick vegetation.

"You have a way there, by the tree." Said the imperial, showing the way.

Vladimiras found a narrow and winding path, almost invisible which headed to a little gazebo covered with ivy.

"How have you discovered this place? It is invisible from outside." Vladimiras asked, following the path.

"I have been told how to find it. I'm waiting for a person."

Vladimiras entered in the little construction. It was a circular wooden vault sustained by eight columns. Seven handrails between the columns enclosed a tiny space which could accommodate four persons on the benches by the rails. In the middle of the gazebo was a little table with a chess board on it. He also noticed a bottle and two glasses on one of the benches. Vladimiras realized that it was an excellent place for a romantic meeting."If you were waiting for a woman then I would leave."

"Don't worry. I'm waiting for a fifty years old man." Replied the hussar, with a broad smile on his face.

Both man shook hands, and seated on the benches. They stared at each other in an embarrassing silence. Eventually Vladimiras started to talk. "What are we supposed to do? We are going to have a talk or try to kill to each other? "

Erick smiled. They have tried to kill each other for a long time during the war between Lithuania and the Empire in the Plains, losing a great deal of friends and relatives in the process. They weren't used to be at peace. "Since we are in a third country, and any fight would mean a diplomatic incident, we could start having a drink." Replied the hussar, taking the glasses from the bench, pouring wine into them and giving one to the Prince.

Vladimiras took a sip and gazed at the figures on the chess board. "Were you playing a chess game?" Asked the Lithuanian.

"No. It was here when I came. I was studying it. Whoever is the black, he is clever at chess. Do you see how he is piercing the white's defense with his Queen. If he was smart enough, the white would be defeated in two moves."

"Sincerely, I dislike chess."

Erick gazed at the Prince. "Your entire life is a chess game. I suppose that you deal with enough schemes in your live to add more with chess."

The Lithuanian Prince raised his eyebrows. "What are you doing here? You are the last person I expected to find in Arendelle. Truth to be told, you seem weird out of a military environment."

"I was supposed to marry princess Anna."

"What do you mean with you were supposed."

"I have rejected to marry her"

The Prince chocked on the wine he was drinking."You have what!"

"Adrian is behind it. And I don't want to get involved."

"Are you kidding? I know the relation with your stepbrother. The confrontation between both Simonyi was known by the whole imperial army in the Plains. Even the Lithuanian army during the war joked about that. You even were about to be court martialed, only the intervention of Hadick, your colonel, saved you.

"Yes, it was very kind of him to defend me."

"It was intelligent. You are one of his best captains. You will be the youngest colonel in the imperial army, if you stay alive. But your reaction is foolish. Don't you care that it could affect your future in the army? Your brother is an important person in the imperial command."

"I doubt it. The management of the hussar regiments is out of the imperial command. Each one has an owner the 'inhaber', an Hungarian landlord who defray all regiment expenses. As the inhaber pays, he chooses the officers of his regiment".

"But your brother could talk with the owner of your regiment."

"Then I would enlist in another regiment. I could get a recommendation letter from my colonel."

"What would prevent your brother from talking with the other owner."

"Each inhaber means to ask a favor. And the favors should be returned. And the relations among Hungarian landlords aren't always friendly. It's too much bother just to take revenge on me."

"I see. But there is a risk."

Erick shrugged. "I know, but what else can I do?"

"What about being reasonable."

"Sometimes, being reasonable is the most unreasonable thing you could do." Said the young hussar with an humorless smile on his face." But, tell me. What are you doing here, claiming Queen Elsa's hand? You told me that you didn't want to marry. Why did you change you mind?"

"I have received a direct order from my father to marry Queen Elsa."

"Ignore it."

"The situation is more complex than that."

"Why? Tell him that you are satisfied enough being a bachelor."

"It's not so easy. When my elder brothers died, the situation was complex. According to Lithuania's traditions only the King or his proclaimed heir could be commander of the army. The heir was Antanas my brother's son, but he was twelve years old and the Empire was over us. It was not the moment to put a child or an elderly man like my father in charge of the army. The army unanimously gave me support to be proclaimed heir.

"It's not strange. You had just saved them from being exterminated during the retreat from the Plains."

"Yes, The retreat from the Plains wasn't an easy situation."

"It was hard for both armies." Added Erick.

Vladimiras went on. "My father accepted me as proclaimed heir against his will. The traditionalist families opposed me, since they know that I want to made changes in Lithuania. Now we are at peace with the empire, the situation isn't so critical, and as commander of the army, I have done some unpopular changes. The support of the army wouldn't be so unanimous in a new crisis, therefore I can't afford any confrontation with my father."

"As always your live is a chess game, but you are the player and the figure at the same time." Said Erick.

"Maybe you are right, but I have the opportunity to modernize Lithuania, and I must do it. Antanas will be King after me at the right moment. I never wanted to be King. I have seen the price of wearing a crown in my father, but now it's my duty. I cannot shirk it."

"It's clear you have reasonable grounds to act that way." Said Erick with a bit of irony in the word 'reasonable'.

The prince took a deep breath. "Let's not talk about that." He replied at last." Tell me. Do you know of the mountain man?"

"The mountain man?" Erick seemed confused.

"The man tall, blond and bulky. I believe his name is Kristopher. "

"Kristoff, his name is Kristoff and he is the romantic partner of Princess Anna of Arendelle."

"I have heard about their relation, I supposed he was a kind of tribal leader of the people from inland, and his marriage with Princess Anna some kind of alliance between Arendelle and them. But it doesn't fit with him being dressed in Arendelle's royal livery."

"How do you know he was dressed in Arendelle's royal livery?"

"The pictures of the ancient Kings of Arendelle show the same uniform. Truth to be told, I get little information about him. A sailor even told me that he is an ice seller. Do you know of him?"

"He is just an ice seller, and the only reason for the marriage is that they are in love with each other."

Vladimiras stared at him in incredulity."An ice seller? I can hardly believe it. Are you sure of that?"

"I'm sure. The last weeks, I have seen them moving through Arendelle, and they seem as a couple in love."

"The last weeks? The imperial delegation has arrived this very morning."

"I came on my own." Erick fill the Lithuanian Prince in on his travel through the Plains, Prussia, the Baltic sea and the crossing of the Scandinavian mountains."I reached Arendelle three weeks ago, and I had to wait for my comrades from the Empire."

"And you have done all this just to avoid meeting your stepbrother, Adrian." Vladimiras said, raising his eyebrows. "But you were talking about Princess Anna. You said that she uses to go through Arendelle."

"Yes, she is not the typical Princess, she mixes with the common people and even cares for them. She seems a nice girl." Erick smiled while talking about Anna.

"I have heard a lot of histories about her being converted in an ice statue by her sister. I didn't believe them, but now..." Vladimiras raised his eyes to glance at the great ice vault over their heads."

"I have heard the events of the last summer explained in a lot of different ways. Some of them contradict the others, but all coincide in three points. Queen Elsa's powers were about to freeze Arendelle, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles was the evil man who tried to become King, trying to kill both sisters, and Princess Anna was the heroine who saved her sister and Arendelle from destruction, risking her life and being transformed in an ice sculpture in the process. Brave Princess Anna they call her. If only half of what they say is true Anna of Arendelle is as brave as she seems."

"You speak as if you know her."

"She liked to listen to Corrado's descriptions of other countries. I have seen her a lot of times this last weeks, talking with Corrado and with the people who works in the harbor."

"Who is Corrado?"

"He is an acquaintance from the army in the Plains. I have been staying at his home. He was an imperial engineer, but he left the imperial service. Now he works for Queen Elsa in the construction of the new harbor." Explained Erick.

"I see, but I'm more interested about the elder sister."

"Why? you could know of her in your wedding night. Although after seeing her, It may be difficult for you to pay attention to those details that night." Joked Erick.

Vladimiras didn't reacted to Erick's joke. "I have to be sure that she is an appropriate Queen for Lithuania. Could you tell me something about her?"

"I haven't had any contact with him. He don't like to mix with common people. I have been almost an entire month in Arendelle and I hadn't seem her until the reception."

"But you have been a lot of time in Arendelle, and you are quite clever gathering information. You have been scout in the imperial army of the Plains for a long time. What do the people of Arendelle tell about her regarding the last summer events?"

"They aren't so unanimous as with her sister. Some said that both sisters worked together to save Arendelle. Other versions, instead, explained that she tried to destroy Arendelle and kill her sister on purpose."

"The Queen of Arendelle trying to destroy her own kingdom doesn't seem very plausible."

"I agree with you. The point of the history is that some people in Arendelle have aversion to their Queen, and the bishop Bodo is one of them."

"The bishop of Arendelle dislikes the Queen?"

"There is a rumor going round that he was horrified by the powers of the Queen and in private he maintains that Queen Elsa's powers are some kind of sorcery."

"I have to recognize that it's a possible explanation."

Erick went on."Some people said that Prince Hans was going to decapitate Queen Elsa and hang her headless body upside down in any public place to become subject to the ridicule and abuse of the common folk. It seems that such an ungentle treatment is the typical punishment for witches in this region of the world. And some people even said that Princess Anna was wrong saving her sister."

"Do they feel so little affection for their Queen?"

"Put yourself in their place. They were about to die. If Hans had killed the Queen, stopping the winter, they would have acclaimed him. But Anna saved her sister and saved Arendelle in her own way. Sometimes being a hero or a demon, a witch or a Queen is decided in a heartbeat. People who now praise brave Princess Anna and acclaim Queen Elsa would have stoned a headless corpse hanging from her feet from the canopy of the market in Arendalle's main square. But some people maintain her previous opinion even when everyone acclaim their beautiful Queen and brave Princess. "

Vladimiras thought about it. If the Lithuanians considered Elsa a witch it would be a real problem. "You are talking about people's opinion of her. It's really interesting, but don't you have any hint about her character? I have seen you judging enemy commanders' character. In fact, I have suffered your skill judging my character during the war. You are very able at that.

Erik doubted for a second while taking a sip of wine. "She..." He stopped."I suppose that she don't care too much for her sister."

"Why do you think so?"

"Anna is in love with the mountain man, and she will be forced to marry with whoever the English and French decide in the conference. And what is the Queen's reaction?" Erick waved toward the tables near the keep. They were lavishly full of food and drinks of the best quality."She makes a celebration." The young hussar finished with disdain in his voice.

"And what do you expected? She is a Queen receiving high dignitaries. "

"It was necessary to receive them with such an opulence? They are going to make a party every day inviting to all the members of the delegations, including the crews of the ships, and all the people in Arendelle. They have even send food and drink to the ships for the crewmen on guard duty. It's absolutely out of proportion!. Queen Elsa should be enjoying all this. I suppose it is flattering to receive the attentions af all those suitors. It is like a faerie tale with a lot of charming princes competing for her hand." Erick said the last words in a mocking tone of voice.

"So what's your point?" Asked Vladimiras.

"She don't care too much for people, neither her sister nor Arendelle's people. She is happy enough being the most desired bride in Europe, to care about her sister relationship or the future of Arendelle in the hands of her future husband. Maybe she isn't smart enough to realize that her future husband will pay her hand with the wealth of Arendelle."

"I have had a talk with her, and she seems a smart woman?"

"Then I suppose that she is too busy picturing herself as a great duchess of the empire, or Queen of a greater country like Bavaria or Lithuania to care about her sister or her little kingdom. It seems that she enjoy a lot her suitors' attentions."

"I doubt that she will enjoy the attentions of the Spanish candidate"

"Why? Is he so ugly?"

"His claim is supported by the French, and nobody have seen him. The rumours said that he is mentally retarded."

Erick let out a whistle from between his teeth. "She will learn the price of these affairs in a specially hard way, when her faery tale of charming Princes fall to pieces. Are you sure of that?"

"He is a Grandee of Spain, but nobody knows anything about him. He have been all his life away of the court. Something must be wrong with him."

They remained silent for a while, the sweet scent of the flowers filled the air. "Why don't you accept the possibility to marry princess Anna." Said eventually Vladimiras.

The young hussar was going to reply but Vladimiras stopped him waving his hand."Think about it. What are your expectations? What are your possibilities to survive to each campaign? You have been about to die in several occasions. And what are your possibilities to promote with your stepbrother against you? There are far worse options than marry princess Anna. Bed her, and stay in Arendelle or, If you want to be a soldier, you can serve in the imperial army anyway. Being a prince of Arendelle your promotion would be easier."

"Why are you telling that to me?"

"Think about it as a friend's advice."

"Are you sure that you aren't influenced by the fact that if I married Princess Anna, Adrian's chances to marry Queen Elsa would drop to zero? The English would never accept both girls married with people from the same country. And I'm half Norwegian, it is supposed that it gives me more possibilities than any other candidate." Erick replied with a mocking smile.

Vladimiras smiled wryly." A wise man always takes his decisions based on different reasons, but I can assure you that your wellbeing is one of them. Come on! Do you care about your stepbrother 's possibilities to marry Queen Elsa?"

"I don't care either way, but I only want to return to the Plains. I feel locked up in this place surrounded by mountains. In Arendelle the only way to see the horizon is to take a boat and go out to sea. I need to be in the middle of the Plains and feel the wind on my face. A wind that comes from hundreds of miles away, and nobody has breathed it before. And besides, Hadick wants to promote me as first captain. The sooner I leave Arendelle the better."

"Your love for the Plains is a proof of your..." Vladimiras started to reply, but in that moment a man approached and entered in the path which headed towards the gazebo.

Erick raised to his feet and started to talk in French."Prince Vladimiras let me present Corrado Giura."

Vladimiras also get up, and both men shook hands scrutinizing warily to each other.

"Yes" Said Erick at Corrado. "He is the man who commanded the Lithuanian army during the siege." After saying that he turned towards Vladimiras. "Corrado commanded the construction of the fortifications, I was in charge of protecting his men while working."

"I lost a lot of men and time in the defences you made." Said the Lithuanian Princes with a respectful tone of voice.

"If it's any comfort to you, you didn't loss event half the men I planned when preparing the defense." Replied the engineer slightly bowing his head.

"We were examining this chess board. Have you been playing with somebody." Asked Erick to Corrado.

Corrado take a brief glance at the board."This board belongs to Queen Elsa, I suppose that she and her sister have been playing this evening before the reception."

"And who is the black player, Princess Anna?."Asked the young captain.

Corrado studied the position of the figures in the board. "Beyond a doubt, Queen Elsa."

Erick clicked his tongue."Vladimiras, She is as clever as you said."

"She is more intelligent than you can imagine." Replied Corrado stiffening." Let's go home. It's late."

"Erick, don't you sleep in the castle during the conference?" Asked the Lithuanian Prince. "It's strange. You are the son of an Imperial Duke. Even being an adopted son you should have been assigned a room in the castle."

"And I have one, but I dislike to be too close to Kings and Queens. I stay at Corrado's." Replied the young hussar.

Vladimiras shook his head and raised his eyes to the sky while both men left the gazebo through the narrow path. Once alone, Vladimiras thought about Erick's words regarding the Queen of Arendelle. The young captain strongly disliked anything regarding the court, but it was true that the celebrations were excessive. Maybe the Queen was intelligent but frivolous? Vladimiras gazed to the chessboard as if the black pieces could tell him something about Queen Elsa's character.


	14. Dawn

The first light of the day woke Anna up. Elsa used to leave the curtains opened to let the day in at dawn, so the young Queen was sure to wake up early. Anna had gone to Elsa's bedroom the night before and both sisters have been talking until they felt asleep. They have been together all night, but now Anna was alone in Elsa's bed. The princess raised her head from the pillow and searched for her sister.

The Queen of Arendelle was in the balcony, from which she could see almost the entire castle. She was waving her hands and the ice vaults and the other structures thawed forming great columns that raised to the sky. Anna approached quietly to the door of the balcony, remembering the great thaw a year ago when Elsa freed Arendelle from the unnatural winter which she had created.

When all the ice had been removed, Elsa looked to a great sheet of paper opened in front of her on a table. She waved her hands again and the ice started to form. Elsa had explained Anna that waving her hands wasn't really necessary, everything was in her head, but waving helped concentration.

Elsa raised both hands and two great square towers formed at every side of the main keep, with a whirling movement of her hands a finial appeared in each corner of their roofs. The Queen of Arendelle slowly spread her arms, and from each tower departed a colonnade parallel to the nearby section of the castle walls, the entablature of the columns leaned on the walls and was topped by great human sculptures in renaissance style which gazed down on the courtyard. Elsa's movements were confident and graceful, all tension from the night before had disappeared. Anna liked to watch her sister while she was using her powers. Elsa showed a wonderful passion usually concealed.

When the colonnades were completed Elsa turned around, and realized Anna's presence. The young Queen was beaming, all her sorrows had vanished using her powers. Anna could't help smiling back. With a wave of her hand Elsa invited Anna to come closer. When Anna was by Elsa, the elder sister, with a proud expression on her face, spread her hands and slowly put them together. When her hands joined, both towers at each side were connected with the main keep through two flat roofs that covered the gardens, each roof was divided in two sections being the one near the keep higher than the other. The join between the roof and the keep was done through a low sloped roof which connected with the steeper roof of the keep.

Anna was delighted, she had been sleeping when Elsa made the first ice castle, and she had missed the spectacle, and seeing the joy of Elsa doing it have been the best part. The sun was rising, but Arendelle and the encampments after the celebration were still sleeping.

Elsa wore her usual ice blue dress with the long snowflake cape, but her hair was loose. She hadn't have time to arrange it. Anna realized that she still wore the dress used in the reception. She had fallen sleep while they were talking, and had forgotten to take it off. Anna looked at her clothes, the dress looked a terrible sight and will take a long time to remove creases from it.

Elsa saw her sister's look and made a knowing smile."I also fell asleep with my clothes on. Yesterday was a hard day, and the night was even harder."

Both sisters looked into each other eyes. "I'm am sorry" Said Anna. "It was my fault."

"What do you mean?" Replied Elsa in surprise.

"I must have been with you in the ball. It wasn't a good idea to leave you alone."

"I'm old enough to be alone Anna, and I told you to leave."

"You are not used to be among so many people, Elsa."

"The problem wasn't the quantity but the quality of the people." Said Elsa. "Let's change the subject,please."

Anna gave a look to the great sheet of paper on the table in front of her sister. It was a blue print of the castle with the added ice structures. At the side of the table was Elsa's drawings holder, a leather case with Elsa's projects inside, the new harbor, the gardens, the inland colonies... Anna remembered the long discussions between them about the gardens. Elsa wanted French style gardens with its perfect geometric forms. Anna, instead, preferred the English style, simulating a natural environment." What is it?" Asked Anna nodding towards the big sheet of paper.

"Blenheim Palace from England. Since they were the second delegation to be received it was appropriate."

Anna beheld the impressive new ice forms over the castle. A sly smile appeared on her face."Confess it, you enjoy making the ice castles. You are using the official receptions as an excuse. And I understand you, it is magnificent!"

The right corner of Elsa's mouth quirked upward. "I have to recognize that I'm quite pleased to use the drafts of your wedding decoration."

"My what!" Asked Anna in surprise.

Elsa's eyes widened. "Eh... I mean..." She replied confused.

"You have been preparing the ornaments of my wedding! Why didn't you say anything?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise." Replied Elsa in an irritated tone of voice, biting her lower lip. After using her powers in such a grand scale, she always was too elated, lowering her guard.

"And you have used the decoration of my wedding for the receptions!" Exclaimed Anna gaping at Elsa.

"Of course not!" Replied Elsa indignant. "I saved the best one, I have only used the discarded drafts!"

Anna gazed at the leather case on the floor. She could recognize the different projects in the case due to Elsa's habit of marking with a little colored seal the sheets of each project, blue for the harbor, green for the gardens, and white for a group of sheets that she had never seen before. The same color was in the seal of the sheet over the table.

Elsa quickly closed the leather case. "Keep your hands off it" She said, with a feigned severe tone of voice and a mischievous smile on her face.

"Come on Elsa! Let me see!" Asked Anna, giggling and reaching for the case.

"You should wait your wedding day!" Replied Elsa, keeping away the leather case from Anna's hands.

The joy suddenly disappeared from their faces. Anna's wedding day wasn't a desired event any more, instead an ominous sensation was now related with it. Both sister remained silent for a moment. Elsa stared at the sad expression on Anna's face.

"I'm sorry." Said Elsa, handing Anna the leather case.

Anna gazed at the case, Elsa's snowflake was carved on its cover. Elsa had never allowed anybody to peep at her projects, and Anna had always wondered what she could find inside.

Anna shook her head. "No. You're right. I will see it the day I marry Kristoff. But now what? Yesterday I was worried about you. You seemed about to …" Anna didn't complete the phrase when she saw Elsa's expression. "Come with me!" Said Anna, entering into the bedroom."I will comb you hair." Anna took Elsa's brush and signaled Elsa to sit on a chair.

Elsa followed her sister and seated at her dressing table and Anna started to comb her long hair. "Are you sure that Elias is the candidate to your hand? Maybe you misunderstood..."

"Beyond a doubt, he is the candidate." Stated Elsa, closing her eyes and relaxing under the gentle touch of Anna's hands.

Anna doubted for a second."And what about the French dignitary, has he been more sensible to our position. "

"He explained even less than the English. He blamed England for the situation and Avoided any responsibility, and that horrible woman at his side." Elsa pushed aside a wisp of her bangs. "But Elias or Madam Gonzaga aren't the problem. Both delegates of the great powers are deaf to whatever we have to say. This is the problem! My worst fear has come true!"

"Your worst fear? Do you anticipate that? Why don't you explained it to me?" Asked Anna.

"I already told you! We don't have a valid information network. I work with rumors, fragmented information, guesses, deductions, trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle with only half the pieces."

"But you didn't explain me anything."

"How? How could I tell you that our options were so scarce. It's a difficult thing to explain if you aren't sure. I might be wrong. I fear to scare you without a real reason. It's the first time I face a situation like this." Elsa said the last words in a loud voice, almost shouting.

Anna gazed at her sister in silence through the great mirror of the dressing table in front of them.

Elsa took her head between her hands, leaning her elbows on the table. "I'm sorry. I suppose I wasn't brave enough to tell you the truth. I was sure or I wanted to believe that I could find a solution, but I don't have information enough!"

Anna shook her head and hugged her sister from behind. "Calm down Elsa, take it easy. You aren't going to give up, are you?" Asked Anna, his face was calm, but her voice dropped to a whisper in the last question.

Elsa pulled herself together, raised her head, and gazed at Anna's eyes through her reflection in the mirror. "No." Said her eventually. "But our options are reducing. I need more information about the delegates, more personal information."

"Why?" Asked Anna, starting to braid Elsa's hair. Elsa's relaxed again, leaning back on the chair and closing her eyes.

"Our father explained me that people often forget the person behind the diplomat, but sometimes, the personal feelings of the person in front of you are the key. As the official position of their countries is a dead end, we must search other options."

"But they just represent their countries interests."

"This is the theory, but reality is that they also have their own interest and those interest may be the key for a successful negotiation. It's the only way I can see if both delegates ignore us, we should find out something that impel them to talk with us."

"What about Corrado's maneuver? Is it still necessary?"

"I think that all our efforts will be useless without it."

"Are you sure? We will be in real trouble, if the English discover us."

"I'm not sure about anything!" Was Elsa's curtly reply."I'm walking in the dark. But I have the feeling that it will be necessary."

Anna was surprised by Elsa's sincerity. She was really affected by the events of the last evening. Until now, Elsa have given him just vague explanations about the whole picture. "And what do you know of Halkett and Mullon?"

"I don't have much information. Halkett is well connected with England's industrial circles, and he had strong bonds with Westergard, but his personal interest aren't well known. Mullon is a young man, he has a reputation as diplomat, but his private life, interests and even relatives are completely unknown. It seems as if he was hiding something. I have to work again with rumors and guesses, but with more lost pieces in the jigsaw puzzle."

"I have a possible solution." Said Anna."I talked with Alan Halkett and Kurt von Schrader."

"The nephews of Lord Howart and von Schrader?" Asked Elsa, frowning.

"Yes, they are gentler than their uncles."

"I'm sure of that. They don't need to be otherwise."

"I will show them the ruins of the old watchtower this afternoon."

"You what?" Exclaimed Elsa in surprise, opening her eyes.

Anna was concentrated in Elsa's braid and took her time to give an answer."Kurt is an encyclopaedist and he is very interested in the old Scandinavian fortresses. "

"Why do you have to go with them? Every guard knows where the remains of the old fortress are."

"I know that, but you told me that we need every bit of information about the English intentions."

"I see. Do you thought that maybe they know something about the intentions of their uncles."

"And maybe we can get something about Lord Halkett. There's is only one way to know it. And look on the bright side, none of them is a candidate for any of us."

Elsa giggled. "You are right. May I come with you?"

"Of course." Was Anna's quick and surprised reply.

"Maybe we can get something useful, and after dealing with the delegates it will be a relieve."

"This morning, we could pay a visit to Corrado." Said Anna warily.

Elsa frowned in a mute question, she was surprised by the sudden change of subject.

"He has to explain you the problems he found in the construction of the north pier."

"He can explain them here, in the castle, and I have a meeting with Kai and the barons about the taxes for the next year."

"Is it a delicate meeting?"

"Taxes are always delicate. The Barons are always delicate. Combining both of them is a dangerous experiment."

"Could I come?"

"Why?"

"I want to help you in the issues of the kingdom, but I can't if you don't teach me. Our father started to take you to meetings of this type when you were fifteen years old! I promise that I will just sit and listen!"

Elsa looked at Anna for a long while. Anna was tense, Elsa had always refused to let Anna to attend that kind of meetings."All right." She accepted at last. "Maybe it is the best, but if you want to say anything, you should explain it to me first."

"Thank you!" Said Anna beaming.

"Await to the end of the meeting to express your gratitude." Replied Elsa with a wry smile on her face.

"Is it going to be so hard?"

"Since the death of our parents until my coronation day the Barons got used to the absence of a King in Arendelle. It is difficult to put them under control again." The Barons were the rulers of the little fiords nearby to Arendelle. They were independent domains but subjected to the rule of the King, or Queen, of Arendelle.

Anna's eyes widened. "You never told me anything about those conflicts!"

"Until the conference, they were a minor nuisance. it was unnecessary to bother you with them."

"Of course it was necessary!" Said Anna, raising her voice in anger. "Elsa I want to help you but you don't let me."

"You already help me! The visits to the neighbor kingdoms, the organization of the inland expeditions, the new harbor you have a god deal of responsibilities."

"I am not a child. You don't have to protect me anymore."

Elsa took a deep breath. "Well,I fear that it will be out of my control anyway. From now on, you will be at my side in all the important meetings. It's that enough."

"Yes." Replied Anna, a bit worried by Elsa's words about being out of her control. Elated by her triumph, she went on with the next point she had in her mind. "And what about the visit to Corrado?"

"We will be busy this morning." Replied Elsa, but Anna could tell that she was undecided.

"It's very early. We have plenty of time, and it is a nice stroll." Protested Anna. "So you could decide a solution for Corrado's problems with the north pier, he could make progress in the works, and you could play a chess game with him." Went on Anna, trying to hit a soft spot in Elsa. Anna insisted so much because she could tell that her sister was really affected by the last night events. She was sure that a chess game would cheer her up, and Corrado was the best player in Arendelle. The day before, the game between both sisters had finished quickly when Elsa stated, and demonstrated, that she would have take Anna's king in two moves, whatever she could have done. Corrado would be a more hard, and interesting, nut to crack. "Finished!" Said Anna after putting the last touch to Elsa's long braid.

Elsa looked her hair at the mirror. "Thank you" She said, turning her head and smiling at her sister.

"Can we go to see Corrado? Please, I want to get rid of all those newcomers. We have plenty of time to arrive on time to the meeting." Said Anna, putting an exaggerated pleading face.

"All right, let's go." Said Elsa after looking for a while her sister's face, controlling a burst of laughter as best she could. "But first, I..."Elsa stopped and continued stressing the first word. "...WE have to met King Konrad."

"Hans brother!" Replied Anna with a grimace.

"Yes." Replied Elsa."He asked for a meeting in private and we set an appointment this morning. Come with me. Please!" That was Elsa's turn to put a pleading face. She imitated so well Anna's previous expression that her sister couldn't help burst in laughter, quickly followed by Elsa. Both sisters leaned on each other, laughing as if their lives depend on it.


	15. The Southern Isles Option

Anna and Elsa met King Konrad of the Southern Isles when he was going out of a room with Mullon. When he saw Elsa, Konrad left the french delegate and approached her. "Good morning Queen Elsa, may I talk with you?"

"Of course King Konrad". Said Elsa, giving a quick glance at Mullon, who was now talking with Ladislas the imperial delegate. She also saw madam Gonzaga. The French woman was seated in a couch in the hall. From that position she had been able to watch the door of the room where Mullon have been talking with Konrad, and now she was watching the conversation with Ladislas.

Elsa felt a shiver running down her spine. "If I try to talk with Mullon she will meddle, that's for sure." Thought Elsa. "Anyway I doubt he would be willing to talk with me even if I could avoid that Cerberus."

"Queen Elsa?" Said Konrad, interrupting Elsa's thoughts.

Elsa turned her attention at the King of the Southern isles. "I'm sorry King Konrad. I will be glad to talk with you. We may use the songbirds room, please come with me." Elsa leaded Konrad to a little room. Its walls were covered with paintings of little birds from which the room took its name.

Konrad let Elsa pass and Elsa nodded to Anna to enter with her. Konrad cleared his throat. "I expected to talk in private."

"Whatever you have to tell me,you can tell to both of us." Replied Elsa and entered in the room followed by her sister. Konrad entered after them.

"First and foremost I want to present my excuses for the behavior of my youngest brother. What Hans tried to make to you and your sister is a shame for me and my family."

"You and your relatives cannot be judged by Hans' behavior. Tell me, is he being well treated?"

"As well as a man in his circumstances could expect. He is confined in a little country house by the sea. A beautiful place that we expect can do a positive effect over him. We have assigned a priest to his personal service and me and my brother pay him a visit as often as we can."

"Thanks for handling so well such a delicate issue."

"It was my duty. I wanted to met you before, but different issues always required my attention and now I have to met you in unfair circumstances."

"Unfair?"

"Yes, unfair. England's actions are an interference in internal Norwegian affairs. Unless you have promoted this conference. Have you.?"

"I am sure that you already know the answer." Replied Elsa.

"The problem is that we are little countries, without real power. Our neighbors manipulate us at their will. I am working to solve that."

"What are you talking about?"

"About unification. A unified Norway would be strong enough to avoid foreign interferences."

"Are you sure that we will be strong enough to keep at bay a country as powerful as England?"

"We should deal with England influence anyway but it would not be so overwhelming."

"And I suppose that you would claim the throne of the unified Norway for your own house."

"Westergard is one of the oldest royal houses in Norway second only to Arendelle and the more powerful. But I thought in the house of Arendelle-Westergard to take that role."

"If you are proposing a marriage to unify both houses you are in the right place. But I fear you are talking with the wrong person. The decision have been taken from my hands." Said Elsa in an ironic tone of voice.

"They are trying to convince you that you are unarmed against them. But you can do a public declaration of your desire to marry me in order to join both houses. So they couldn't force you to marry with another person."

"Maybe you are right but the English will start a blockade before we could finish our wedding vows."

"Not, if we have the support of enough countries."

"Have you get the support of France and the Empire? They have their own interests regarding this issue."

"I am working on it. Please, think about my proposition. I am sorry to present it to you in such a complex situation. I had planned to pay you a visit and try to handle it in a more appropriate mood, but owing to circumstances beyond my control it has been impossible. In fact, I meant to be in your coronation day, but I broke my leg ridding, and after the wedding other matters required my personal attention."

Konrad remembered those troubled days. The army of Westergard had been doing maneuvers to show to a petty neighbor the power of the Southern isles, and Konrad leaded the army. It should have been a minor issue, just an entertainment before Arendelle's coronation ceremony.

In a steep pass through the mountains, he had fallen from the saddle, breaking his right leg. So he had to stay in a remote outpost for two weeks, before he could be moved to the capital. Here, he could recover while suffering Stephan's constant recriminations for spoiling his arrangements with the English. Even the English dignitary declined to go to Elsa's coronation.

After that, the unnatural winter fired the alarms in London, and when Konrad was ready to go to Arendelle in order to get Queen Elsa's hand, the English clearly stated that the join of both crowns wasn't a good idea any more.

"I will pay special attention to you proposal." Elsa gently replied.

"Please, think about your duty towards Norway."

"King Konrad, Norway doesn't exists." Replied Elsa.

"You are right, but its future existence depends on your decision."

Elsa gazed King Konrad's face, the man looked sincere and honest. But she remembered the night, months ago, when she had explained the English intentions to Anna. Her sister had just arrived from a visit to a friendly Kingdom, and she wanted to hold a conference in Arendelle to mediate between that Kingdom and an aggressive third country which was Westergard. The affairs, which had kept King Konrad away from Arendelle, have been threatening a pacific and smaller country. Elsa hadn't trusted the King of the Southern Isles before the meeting, but after talking with him, she felt a strong disdain for his hypocrisy.

"As I have said, I will pay special attention to your proposal, but now we have to leave." said Elsa raising from her chair.

"Thank you for your time." Replied Konrad, rising on his feet and strolling up to the door.

Anna have been silent for all the meeting, since she felt inhibited by Konrand. His remarkable likeness with Hans was enough to provoke strong emotions in Anna, and she preferred not talking so as not to say any inconvenience due to the intense and odd emotions she was feeling. She feared to not be fair with Westergard's King.

But when Konrad was about to leave, Elsa turned around to get her drawings case and her snowflake cape touched Kings Konrad's hand. In the face of the King appeared an expression of repugnance, although he pulled himself together in a heartbeat. Elsa's frost cape with its immaterial transparency was Elsa's powers most visible symbol. How could a man who was trying to marry a woman, have such reaction at her contact? Anna supposed that King Conrad loathed Elsa's powers, but he wanted so much a unified Norway under his power that he would marry Arendelle's Queen anyway. "How he dare even to look at her in such a way." Thought Anna in a sudden burst of anger.

When Konrad left the room, Elsa sighed, left the leather case in the floor and seated in the chair again. Both sister gazed one to each other. "It's the second King or King to be who ask me to save a country without even pronounce the word 'wife', let alone 'love'." Said Elsa with a brave but humorless smile on her face.

"Maybe is the best way to handle this issues." Replied Anna. "Yesterday I had a talk with one of my candidates in the ball. He maintained that we would soon fall in love with each other. Truth to be told, I prefer this way, since it doesn't seem so stupid." Elsa raised her eyebrows in surprise at the comment.

"At least he takes your opinion into account." Went on Anna.

"He speaks with us because I'm his last hope. The house of Westergard has been trying to unify Norway under his command, using all the means available to them. And they didn't care if those methods were fair or unfair. England used to support his maneuvers, although I have an inkling that they have fallen into disfavor with the English. His courtesy comes from despair, since he can't get what he wants from Lord Halkett."

Anna's eyes blinked with the unusual amount of information provided by Elsa.

"Do you think the same about Prince Vladimiras?"

"No. He is fully aware that I don't have the slightest influence into deciding my future husband, hence I'm sure he was sincerely interested in knowing me. He is a quite interesting person, and his assurance is extraordinary."

"At least your preferences are clear." Said Anna smiling.

"I have just said that he is an interesting person, anyway my personal preferences won't be taken into account. Elsa pushed aside a strand of her bangs."Let's go Anna. I want to scape from the castle before the Bavarian candidate ask me to save his country from Prussian and Austrian influence." She said getting up and went close to the door.

After the meeting with the Queen, Konrad returned to his rooms to fetch his brother. Stephan was in the little office which had been assigned to their exclusive use. Konrad's younger brother was seated on a desk by the window. "Had he brought the desk from Westergard?" thought Konrad.

"I have spoken with the french. He wants to make an alliance of all the powers against the English." Said Konrad after closing the door behind him.

"And what had you replied." Asked Stephan without raising his eyes from the document he was reading.

"Lord Halkett has sent us to hell, with educated words, but to hell anyway."

"His words were..."

"I don't care about the exact words, only about its significance with him we are out of the Arendelle business."

"And with Mullon you may be out of your throne."

"They wouldn't dare to invade Westergard."

"They shouldn't bother. Our nobles are resentful enough to revolt against you if the English suggest that they will support them."

"They owe me fidelity."

"We have been draining their wealth and reducing their privileges in order to get power enough to support our policy on Norway. It was the right decision, but it has its consequences. We should be smart enough to don't force the issue."

"If I marry Queen Elsa, Norway would be mine. It's worth the risk!"

"If Mullon is going to made an alliance of all the powers, why he would take you in account for Elsa's hand. He will depend on a lot of more important people to satisfy, and sincerely Anna is a poor compensation for taking such risk." Stephan took off his glasses and looked at her brother, leaning both elbows on the desk.

"Because I'm going to get a declaration from Elsa that she wants to join both crowns through our marriage. So Arendelle will join to the french alliance through us, and Mullon will agree to our desires."

"Why? The french may break his word once he gets what he wants or get Arendelle alliance by easier ways. And anyway you have to convince the sweet Queen Elsa about doing that silly declaration you are planning."

"I have already talked with Elsa about the declaration."

"And what have the Queen said about your proposal?"

"She is a woman and things like this are too much for her. Her sole interest was to pretend that she cares about Hans." Konrad scornfully said. "She got frightened and doubted that I could get the French and imperial support to protect us against England."

"I also doubt it, and I am not a woman. I believe she is more sensible than you. Or maybe she don't want to marry you." Stephan said the last words in an ironic tone of voice.

"Why not? She is twenty two years old and I forty seven, it's a perfect match!" Konrad stiffened at Stephan's words.

"It was just a joke, anyway I have my doubts about all this issue of the alliance with the french."

"The English have bitten more than they can chew. The french are more aggressive than expected. Lord Halkett won't be able to handle a second crisis in Scandinavia."

"Aggressive? Have the french invaded any country?"

Konrad looked confused at his younger brother.

"This is only diplomatic smoke, and the first breeze, which swell out the sail of the royal navy, will fade it away ."

"We are not alone. I have talk with Bishop Bodo, and he was really interested in my suggestions about the future of Arendelle."

"That craven! He was the perfect ally when we were handling a local issue. He would always have given support to the strongest side, and we were the strongest side. But now, with England and France quarreling for the spoils of Arendelle, we are just a minor player. He is such a fool that he hasn't realized the new situation, but he will fade away even before than the French." Stephan shook his head.

"Anyway we have an opportunity. "

"You lost your opportunity when you break your leg in that silly trip with the army. The right moment was in Elsa's coronation ceremony, and I had worked hard with the English to make it possible. It was going to be the most important moment of your reign. Elsa was ripe for being picked, but you spoil it. Now it's impossible." Stephan banged his fist on the desk, saying the last words.

Konrad glared at his brother in silent. "The situation isn't so serious. Hans didn't succeed in his attempt to take Arendelle's throne. He tried on his own to take advantage of my accident but he failed."

Stephan snorted with anger. "I would sincerely prefer Hans in Arendelle's throne than the current situation. Hans would have founded a Westergard dynasty in Arendelle which would have supported us."

"I don't share your opinion, it would have delayed one generation the unification of Norway."

"Under your command! Is this your only worry?" Sarcastically asked Stephan. He ignored Konrad glare and went on."If you want to take my advice forget it. Concentrate our resources in the lesser kingdoms and marry your heir with the future heir of Arendelle. Elsa will disappear in a forgotten corner of Europe and her crown will pass to a less difficult heir at her dead."

"That means that Norway won't be unified during my lifetime."

"Maybe it will be under your son."

I can't accept that. History don't remember gentle parents. I have worked too much in it and I have sacrificed too much."

"I have also worked on it as much as you, and I don't want to lose everything."

"You don't want? Maybe you have to remember who is the king and who take the final decision." After saying that, Konrad leave the room. Stephan remained in the room, unable to continue working with the document he had been reading before.

Elsa was in the gardens enjoying the fresh air of the morning. Anna had gone to see Kristoff before leaving for Corrado's, and Elsa was waiting for her. She was going towards the little gazebo where both sisters have been playing a chess game yesterday, when she saw the tall Spanish soldier in his dark green jacket.

Elias was seated in a nearby stone bench under a dogwood full of white flowers. He had been playing with the fallen flowers on the dirt and Pedro was cleaning his hands with a handkerchief.

Elsa's first reaction was to run away from them, but then she saw Elias' confused expression and how the soldier was unsuccessfully trying to calm down him while cleaning his hands. Elsa noticed a surprising affection in the soldier's attitude. She couldn't help feeling pity for Elias. He looked as helpless and frightened as the night before. Elsa hesitated for a moment, but in the end, though unsure of what she was going to do, the young Queen went close to the tall soldier.

"Do you speak French?" Asked Elsa.

"Yes, Queen Elsa." Replied the soldier.

"What's your name?"

"Pedro."

"He is a tight-lipped man" thought Elsa. "How is Elias? Is he better than yesterday?"

The man looked at Elsa, his face was unreadable. "He is not used to be out of his home. Travels always bother him and here, full of people speaking strange languages, it's worse."

The man speech was difficult to understand. He mixed French with non French words and had a thick accent. "Maybe he doesn't speak too much because he is not used to speak in French." Thought Elsa, but something in the Spanish soldier attitude suggested that he never spoke too much.

"My sister saw him walking alone through Arendelle."

"He tried to escape. Elias don't realize that he is far away from home and he wanted to return to his usual life."

"Just like me." Thought Elsa."I want to return to my little Kingdom, when my worries were related with improving Arendelle's wellbeing and the international politics were far away ." Elsa gazed at Elias. "Do he speak in French?"

"He speaks it with madam Gonzaga."

"May I talk with him?" Asked Elsa to Pedro.

"Of course." Replied him.

Elsa approached to the young man. He looked warily at her, but with curiosity.

Elsa stopped in front of him. "Hello Elias. My name is Elsa. May I sit?"

"Yes. Are you Queen Elsa?"

"Yes. I'm Queen Elsa." Answered Elsa while sitting by Elias. "You have found a lovely place to stay." Elsa looked up at the branches covered with flowers over their heads.

Elias give a glance to the great tree."It remembers me the great chestnut in my home and the white flowers are like the almond trees in blossom."

"It should be a beautiful place."

"Yes. It is. It has a lot of gardens like your castle. I like gardens and strolling through them." The young man shyly smiled at Elsa.

"And do you like my gardens?"

"Yes! They are pretty. The castle is also pretty. And you, you are also very pretty."

"Thank you, Elias. That's very kind of you." Elsa couldn't help smile, he was so innocent as a child.

"My mother says that we are going to marry."

"And he is also as bold as a child." Thought Elsa, more amused than worried."Do you like the idea?"

Elias thought for a while before answer."I don't know. I have never married before."

"It's a good response." Said Elsa, laughing.

"You are the first person who asked it to me. And you? Do you like it?"

Elsa hesitated in surprise for a moment. "Well, you are also the first person who asked it to me. I suppose we are in a similar situation."

"Don't you know? It's normal. marrying is a very important decision." Elias said that with a grave expression on his face, trying to give importance to his words.

"How charming! I wish the English and French dignitaries would know it also." Thought Elsa, smiling softly at the young Spaniard.

The Queen and the child went on with their talk under the shade of the flowered tree which protected them of the morning sun. A few meters apart, Pedro gazed at them in silence.


	16. An incomplete chess game

Kristoff was brushing Sven's fur. He had brushed him the night before when he had returned from their night hike. But it had been a quick brushing, now Kristoff was taking his time while chattering with his old friend.

"I wish you had seen them. All this soldiers and diplomats arrived from all Europe crowded into the main hall and Ana and Elsa standing in front of them as if they were used to make it every day."

The reindeer gazed at the mountain man and grunted.

"Of course I knew that they were going to do it well, but..."

At that moment, Anna entered into the stable. She had changed his dress after the meeting with Konrad, since she preferred simpler clothes. "I guessed I would find you here." She said beaming at Kristoff and the reindeer. Anna hugged Sven's head. "I miss you."

Elsa had been adamant in that point. Sven and Olaf must hide away from the newcomers. Olaf had went with Marshmallow, his brother, to the North Mountain. Sven had left Arendelle to wander about the nearby woods where he met with Kristoff now and then. Today was resting in the stables after helping Kristoff.

"I really miss you." Repeated Anna, stroking Sven's mane. She was realizing how she missed him. Arendelle was a quite different world without the snow man and the reindeer, specially when they had been replaced by a bunch of soldiers and diplomats.

Anna left Sven and turned towards Kristoff, taking him to a corner of the stable. "I have news." Said the young princess and, after looking around to be sure that nobody was in the stable, explained all the conversation with Elsa."

"Sometimes, I think she doesn't trust me." Exclaimed Anna after the long explanation.

Kristoff shook his head. "I don't believe it. She is just being overprotective. She has been protecting you all her live one way or another. She can't change in just a year. Maybe she never will change."

"I suppose you are right, but she shouldn't bear the brunt of the Kingdom alone. We have talk about of it a lot of times."

"It isn't an easy task changing your sister's mind."

" I'm a princess of Arendelle and I also have my responsibilities, and I don't want to avoid them."

"Yes, I know." Kristoff thoughtfully said, averting his eyes.

Anna looked at her boyfriend, intrigued by Kristoff's attitude. "What are you thinking about?"

"If you... I mean I was thinking about Elsa's estrange phrase when you were talking about the external Barons."

"When she said that something was going to be out of her control? Yes I also wondered what she was talking about. Do you believe that she fears a rebellion of the Barons?"

Kristoff meditated on that possibility for a while. "No. I don't believe that. I suppose she was talking about protecting you."

"What do you mean?"

"She feared that she won't be able to protect you any more."

"Why?"

"Because she will be far away with the husband chosen by the English and the French."

Anna took a deep breath." That's why Elsa had let me in on the meetings. Because in a short time, I will have to be able to manage the Kingdom on my own."

"It's possible."

Anna was astounded. If Elsa was accepting the possibility of being forced to marry, what it could mean for Kristoff and her? She had been overjoyed by her sister decision to accept her in the meetings, but now it seemed a sentence.

"What are you going to do?" Asked Kristoff with an intense gaze in his eyes.

Anna could tell by Kristoff's expression that the question was important. Deep inside herself she felt that a lot of things were at stake, and everything depended on her reply. She leaned on a wooden pole which supported the roof, and gazed back at Kristoff. "I will learn as quick as I can anything my sister would teach me." Finally, Anna answered, feeling her heart tear apart.

Kristoff lowered his eyes, but Anna took his head with both hands and, raising his face, kissed him. "I'm sorry." She softly said.

Kristoff embraced Anna and they kissed again. She couldn't avoid a soft moan when she felt his lips over her mouth, but her eyes were watering. They remained closely embraced for a long while, their mouths slowly moving over their faces. Eventually they stop kissing and gazed at each other, still embraced. Anna saw a tear trickling down Kristoff's cheek. She couldn't tell if it came from her eyes or from Kristoff.

"Anna I..." Started to say Kristoff, but in this moment the door of the stable was flung open and a French cuirassier came in. He stopped when he saw them and, with a faint smile in his face,went back, closing the door behind him.

Anna and Kristoff had parted when the door had opened. "I have to go with my sister, she is waiting for me. We have to go to Corrado's home." Panted Anna when the door was closed again.

"Of course. I will get your horses ready." Replied Kristoff in a faltering voice.

"Thank you." Said Anna, slowly walking backward towards the door. Once out of the stable, she took a deep breath and went away, heading towards the gazebo where she and her sister had planned to meet. Halfway there, she noticed the strange couple under the dogwood.

She went closer, gazing at her elder sister in astonishment. Elsa appeared very comfortable in Elias' company. She had a soft smile on her face and paid close attention to his explanations.

"Princess Anna."

Anna was surprised by the sudden interruption. She had been so fascinated gazing at her sister that she didn't realize the presence of the dark green clad Spanish soldier.

"Hello..." Anna was about to ask permission, but on second thought, she decided that she was in her home and she didn't want to ask permission to any newcomer. "I want to talk with my sister." She completed the phrase in a formal tone of voice.

Elsa noticed Anna's presence and got up. "Elias, I have to leave, but I hope we could talk again another day"

Elias smiled. "Me too."

Elsa leaned in and kissed Elias cheek on a sudden impulse, then went close to Pedro and her younger sister. "These days, here are too many people strolling in this gardens. I will talk with my seneschal to grant you permission to enter in our private gardens. So you could go with Elias if he felt uncomfortable and needed peace and quiet."

"Thank you Queen Elsa." Replied Pedro bowing his head.

Both sisters headed towards the stable for their horses.

"Why were you talking with him? Do you believe that you can get any useful information?" Anna asked.

"From Elias? Of course not! He is like a child." Replied Elsa in surprise.

"And then? Why were you so fond chattering with him?"

Elsa hesitated for a second. "I don't know. He is so helpless that I couldn't help it. He is confused in a strange world and I tried to offer him a friendly voice in the middle of strangers." Elsa shrugged."In the end, he is in a situation similar to us."

Anna thought about her sister's words, turning her head towards the great dogwood. She saw Elias waving at them. "I suppose you are right. They are treating him as us." Said Anna waving back at Elias.

"I fear that it is more correct to say that they are treating us as poor Elias." Was Elsa's joyless response.

They reached the stables where Kristoff had already saddled their horses. A spirited white horse for Anna and a very calm mare for Elsa, since the elder sister didn't have neither the fondness nor the skill of her younger sister for horses.

Kristoff helped Elsa, holding the reins. "Are you fine?" He asked to Elsa.

"I'm fine Kristoff." Said Elsa, bravely smiling from her horse.

"I'm glad to hear it. Enjoy the walk girls." He said with a last look at Anna.

Once out of the castle Elsa turned to talk with Anna. "What do you think of Konrad?"

"I'm not very good judging the members of his house, do you remember?" Replied Anna surprised at the unusual question.

"Maybe, but I want to know your opinion. What do you think about him?"

Anna hesitated for a second. She didn't want to comment the incident of the cape, since Elsa was worried enough about people's reaction to her powers; however she decided that it was important enough to be explained.

"So he was afraid of my powers. What a wonderful couple we would make!" Said Elsa after Anna's explanations. The young Queen tried to seem ironic, but his smile was joyless. "Maybe it could be useful to keep him at bay if we eventually married."

"Are you joking!" Exclaimed Anna." He has told us what we want to hear. Just like Hans always did. Until he took the mask off. He is so treacherous and vile as his younger brother."

"It's true. But it's also true that in a unified Norway my daughters, if any, maybe wouldn't be forced to marry a stranger."

"Elsa! What are you talking about? Are you seriously considering his offer?"

Elsa hesitated for a moment."Anyway, I don't believe that France or the Empire will support him." Elsa said at last and remained silent, lost in her thoughts, the rest of the way.

Corrado's home was a little house on a steep hill by the fiord and near the new harbor. The place had wonderful views over the fiord and the building work on the harbor, the jewel of Elsa's efforts to improve Arendelle. Both sisters leaded their horses to the front of the house searching for the old engineer. Anna couldn't help worrying about Elsa. She was passive and isolated, engrossed in her own thoughts.

Anna got down from her horse near the door. "Corrado." She said while knocking at the open door. "Anna was about to call Corrado louder when they heard the sounds of a discussion in a strange language from the back of the house.

"What is happening here?" Elsa asked Elsa in surprise. Corrado liked to be on his own and it was strange that he was in his home with somebody not related with the construction of the harbor. "What language are they speaking?" Asked Elsa.

"I guess it is Italian." Answered Anna.

"Italian?" Where have Corrado found a compatriot?"

"Maybe he has found an old acquaintance in the imperial delegation" When Elsa frowned, Anna quickly added."I doubt that they were doing any kind of conspiracy. They are talking too loud."

She was right, they were shouting at the top of their lungs. "Corrado." Said Elsa in loud voice, without response. Both sister went to the back of the house and found Corrado quarreling with a young soldier who wore black trousers and white shirt, a black jacket and a black cap with a silver death's head were on a chair. Anna and Elsa recognized Captain Erick Simonyi. Both were seated at a little table under a tree in the garden rear the house. They had a chess board on the table with pieces on it.

Erick was the first to realize the presence of both sisters and get up. Corrado turned and bowed his head after getting up. "Queen Elsa, princess Anna. Welcome to my house." Erick at his side also bowed his head in silence and put on his black jacket.

"Good morning Corrado, I am sorry to disturb you." Elsa turned her head at the young hussar. "Hello captain Simonyi."

"Hello Queen Elsa, princess Anna" Erick's manner was polite but cold.

"We have come to see the details of the problem in the north pier basements." Said Elsa.

"Of course, although I have the planes in the harbor office. I will go for them. I will be back in half an hour. "

"I will go for them. I can take my horse and be here in ten minutes." Captain Simonyi said, getting his black cap from the chair.

"You don't know where they are." Replied Corrado.

"You can explain me where they are." Replied the young captain.

"I don't remember the exact place and you would jumble my papers up. I will go, thank you Erick." Quickly replied the engineer. "Would you be so kind to stay with the Queen and the Princess until my return? You could play a chess game with the Queen. She is a very good player."

Anna smiled. Corrado was trying to keep the young hussar away of the new harbor and she was sure that Elsa didn't really want to play a chess game with the sullen hussar. "I think it is a great idea, Elsa is a great player" She said beaming at her sister " Instead, I am a bad one." She added, putting on an innocent expression to avoid taking Elsa's place.

Elsa looked at her younger sister with a look of anger before turning at the Captain with a charming smile. "Of course, I will be delighted to play chess with you."

Captain Simonyi looked at the chess board with indifference. "Anyway Corrado was going to checkmate me." He said.

"Be nice with the Queen. Remember your diplomatic skills from the diplomatic corps." Added Corrado while turning towards Anna. "Anna could you come with me? I will need your help to bring all the maps."

Anna hesitated, fearing to leave Elsa alone, but Elsa nodded at her, giving permission to leave. So he left, animatedly talking with Corrado about his travels.

Elsa was interested in Corrado's words about Symoni being a diplomat. Elsa supposed that he had been a low rank diplomat who had moved to the army searching better options for promotion or due to a failure. Anyway, he could have some bits of information." You speak Italian fluently. Do you learn it as diplomat?" She asked sitting at the table.

"No, I speak it because I was raised in Italy. " The Captain replied sorting the pieces on the board.

"Italy? I supposed house Simony was from Hungary."

"The main line comes from Hungary. But I belong to a minor line from Italy." Simonyi took the white queen in one hand and the black in the other and, after hiding both hands at his back, offered both clenched fists at Elsa. She pointed Simonyi's right hand which concealed the white queen. "You are white. It is appropriate, by the color of our clothes I mean. We still don't know who is the best player."

Elsa smiled at the comment. "But your brother is the holder of an Hungarian dukedom."

"Adrian is my stepbrother. I was adopted by the old duke when I was fifteen years old at the death of my father." Erick placed the chess board over the table with the white pieces in front of Elsa.

"And your mother?" She asked while moving the pawn in front of the Queen.

"My mother died during my childbirth." Erick replied to Elsa's move advancing the King's knight to control the square adjacent to Elsa's pawn.

"I am sorry. I suppose that speaking Italian would have been useful. As a diplomat I mean."

"Since my only assignment as diplomat was in London, it wasn't very useful."

Elsa could hardly believe her good luck. She decided to left a breach in her defense over the chess board. The hussar seemed really interested in the chess game and maybe if she left him to attack then he wouldn't care enough about what he said.

After the initial movements, with the basic positions of both players already defined. Elsa went on with the talk. "Maybe if you have been in London, you have met old acquaintances in the conference."

"Ladislas is the only one." Was the distracted response. The hussar was totally concentrated in the board. " He was my mentor when I was in London." Erick bit the bait and attacked with the bishop as Elsa had supposed.

"Are you talking about the Imperial delegate?" Elsa covered the gap but leaving a possibility to maintain the breach.

"Yes, he taught me the basis of diplomacy." Erick's responses were slower. He had found a breach in the well constructed Elsa's defense and was concentrated on it.

"Dealing with the English. You had a hard nut to crack!" Elsa was surprised by the hussar's words, being trained by the current imperial delegate doesn't fit with a low rank diplomat.

"Yes. They have an outstanding diplomacy and are used to handle issues with the minimal amount of force. Just diplomatic pressure use to be enough." Erick moved one knight to join to the attack.

"I noticed that after talking with Lord Howart Halkett." Elsa was surprised, she had not taken into account the knight. He moved the Queen to check Erick's attack.

"You have met the old lumberjack! He is really a hard nut to crack." Erick retired the bishop from the attack.

"Old lumberjack, what a funny nickname! He get it due to the timber commerce? Elsa made a wrong movement to provoke Erick. She wanted him involved in the game.

"Yes. He owns a share of 'Scandinavian timber' the company that provides half the timber for the royal navy's shipyards." Erick added the second knight to the attack. Elsa realized that the bishop retreat was just a feint to cover the new advance. Much to her surprise Erick was a good player, Elsa had to recognize to herself that she was enjoying the game.

Now her defense was crumbling under Erick's hard attack; however she needed more time talking with him. Elsa decided to launch the Queen in the middle of Erick's attack to buy time. It was risky because losing the queen would shorten the game, but Elsa was confident about her chess skill. Regarding what else to ask she was lost for words. Erick's last comment has been a confirmation of his worst fears, everything seemed lost for her and Anna and any further information she could get seemed useless.

"Are you sure of that?" She asked, although her voice faltered.

"Of course I'm sure, I visited the offices of..." Erick stopped talking suddenly, raised her eyes from the board and gazed at Elsa. He had been absorbed in the board and hadn't paid much attention to the conversation with her. It was just small talk while playing, but the Queen's tone of voice suggested that it was something else.

Elsa could tell that Erick's attention was no longer centered in the board. The concentration of the young hussar in the chess game had disappeared, replaced by a sharp gaze towards her.

"You seem very interested in Halkett's whereabouts. Are you also interested in Mullon?" Asked Erick, his voice was polite although cold.

"Well, they are such interesting people. To a certain extend, they decide the fate of their countries through their decisions."

"And the fate of Arendelle." Added the Imperial officer. His voiced seemed a sentence.

"To certain extend, I agree." Replied Elsa. Erick's penetrating gaze made her uncomfortable. The young Queen had the odd sensation that he was able to glimpse her thoughts.

"She is interested in Halkett. Maybe the Queen is playing to be a diplomat. She has discovered the truth about the Spanish candidate and the faerie tale isn't so beautiful as expected." Thought Erick. "That's why you are so interested in the dignitaries. Do you try to influence them?"

"Why should I do that?"

"I don't know. Maybe you have a preference for one of the candidates. Or maybe you dislike the Spanish accent of one of them." He ironically asked.

Elsa believed that the young hussar was laughing at Elias. "How you dare to talk like that." She didn't even realize she was raising her voice.

Elsa's reply seemed to confirm Erick's suspicions."She didn't care for your sister's marriage and made a celebration to receive the candidates; however she have changed her mind when she realized that her marriage isn't so beautiful." He said to himself while his upper lip curled in disdain. "Let me guess. They even don't talk with you about the issue. They avoid to give you details of the negotiations and assure that they will do the best for you." Erick went on , remembering what he had seen when he was a diplomat with Ladislas in London. He couldn't help a scornful tone of voice, remembering the usual methods of his old teacher.

Elsa didn't realize that the scorn was made against the diplomats; on the contrary she believed that the young hussar was laughing at her. "You are talking no sense. Why would they do that?"

"Because you are the ruler of a little country to be controlled. Do you think that the butcher likes to talk with the defenseless lamb to be slaughtered?" Erick curtly stated.

Elsa was taken aback by the bitter description of her situation, although she pulled herself together and waited a few seconds before calmly replying. "I'm not a lamb Captain Simonyi and I am not going to allow anybody to control Arendelle."

"And how are you going to avoid that. You are asking questions that a half decent diplomat would already know. The fact that you are so sure that you can avoid it is a clear indication that you don't know what you are talking about!" Erick voice was curtly, but a voice within him was saying that it was enough. Even though she was a silly Queen, nobody would deserve to bear the English and French plots; nevertheless he couldn't help going on, moved by his disdain for anything related with crowned heads.

"If I had a half decent information network I would know that!" Thought Elsa while raising to her feet suddenly. She hit the table with her knee and threw away the chess board. The pieces flew in all directions. "I have had enough of this! None of you have the right to act in this way!"

Erick leaned back on his chair and looked up to the young Queen, spreading his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "It is not a question of rights. It is a question of power. In international relations the rule is: one blade, one vote, that's all."

Erick's tone of voice was trying to be soothing, but Elsa had been under a lot of strain, and now, she was about to blow up. "And it seems that you are proud of it!" She said.

"My opinion in this issue is even less important than yours Queen Elsa!" Erick quickly replied, rejecting any connection with the whole issue.

Elsa glared at Erick and shouted at the top of their lungs. "Well, my opinion will count or at least I will fight to the bitter end to make it count! My country and my sister won't be used as bargaining chip! You can be sure of that Hungarian, Italian or whatever you are!" Elsa stood in front of the still seated Erick her eyes flamed with anger, her teeth bared in an expression of hate. She seemed about to hit him with her clenched fists.

Erick remained silent, for a moment the only sound was produced by Elsa breathing in short pants. The soldier previous hostility had evaporated and gazed at Elsa with grave and thoughtful eyes.

"Imperial." Erick eventually said with emotionless voice. "I'm just an imperial soldier."

"What's happening here?" Anna and Corrado had returned and looked to the scene in bewilderment.

"Queen Elsa was doing a demonstration of diplomatic skills for me." Replied Erick getting up and taking her black cap. "Queen Elsa, princess Anna, with your permission." He said bowing his head and leaving.

Elsa took a deep breath. "Corrado I am sorry by wasting your time in such a useless way but I should return as soon as possible to the castle." She said when Erick had already gone.

Both sisters leave the little house, ridding their horses. Anna was utterly surprised, she had never seen Elsa so irritated. At least, his passivity had disappeared, all the way long to the castle she ranted and raved about selfish hussars. But Anna wasn't sure that it was the appropriate mood for a meeting with the Barons.


	17. Arendelle's Barons

"Well, before we finish the meeting, I want to wish that Queen Elsa and Princess Anna could get a satisfactory couple from the conference being hold these days in Arendelle. I'm sure that everybody will join me in that wish." Asgrim said, slyly smiling while talking. He was the lord of Arendelle's southernmost fiord and was nicknamed the watcher of the sea since one of his traditional duties, now obsolete, was to provide an early warning for any possible menace from the south. He was a slender old man of average height, round face, thick mustache, and great eyes which give him a slight resemblance with an owl.

Anna beheld the expression of the other Barons. They gazed at their colleague with different degrees of annoyance, depending on their skill at hiding emotions.

Both northerner Barons controlled themselves. Clarence just looked at Asgrim with disdain. He was a thin man of long face with a dark skin inherited from his father's exotic marriage with a rich heir from Spain. At his side, Ebbe clicked his tongue before joining his fellow northerner Baron in a polite and strained approval of Asgrim's words. Ebbe was a fat, bulky man, with a square face and bald as an egg.

Herolf, the remaining southern Baron, whose fiord linked with the road that went through the mountains from Arendelle to the Kingdoms to the south and ended in Westergard northernmost valley, was less polite and grimaced. He was a tall, bulky, blond man with a long face and a prominent aquiline nose dominating over his face. His thick eyebrows protected two sky blue eyes which were a direct window to his emotions and, in that moment, they showed her resentment towards Asgrim.

After almost an hour, Anna was really tired. The meeting had been a continuous discussion about any possible detail the Barons have been able to find out that could cast a shadow about the new harbor feasibility. They have centered their doubts about the figures, saying that it was too expensive and expressing their lack of confidence about Corrado's handling of the project.

Clarence even suggested that Corrado was swindling the young Queen. "You are so young my dear Queen and you don't have experience enough about people's hypocrisy." He had said.

"Thanks to you. I'm learning quite quick. "Had been Elsa polite and ambiguous response that had left him doubting since he was not sure if it has been an expression of gratitude or an insult.

After the Baron's expressions of good will about the final outcome of the conference, Elsa raised to her feet to finish the meeting and the Barons, followed by Kai, left after bowing their heads, although Anna could tell due to their barely disguised smirks and disdainful glances that they didn't like to owe obedience to a young woman like Elsa.

"All the meetings are so strained?" Anna asked to her sister once alone.

"Some have been even harder, specially when Bishop Bodo attends the meeting. They hate the new harbor and paying more money to cover unexpected expenses is like rubbing salt in the wound."

"I have noticed they aren't thrilled with it. Why? If I didn't misunderstand they accepted long ago to pay extra taxes in exchange for a share in the ownership of the harbor." Asked Anna in surprise.

"Because the crown share, and expenses, will be much larger than theirs. In the long run, it means that their power in Arendell will diminish, since their wealth will be lesser compared to the wealth of the crown. In political terms it will be a checkmate!" Elsa replied while noting some details of the meeting down on a paper.

Anna couldn't help smiling. Elsa tended to use chess terminology to explain different situations. "Then why they accepted to contribute to the harbor if it could weak them?"

"They accepted because I clearly stated that If they didn't contribute I would build it anyway, although it would have been smaller and would have taken more time. The crown's revenue would have been lesser but they wouldn't have had any. On the long term, it would have been a checkmate anyway, though they would have less money into their pockets." Elsa had finished writing and was picking up her papers.

"You would have been really disappointed when you realized that the harbor was so controversial."

"It wasn't a surprise. I guessed in advance that they will oppose to it."

"And you do it anyway, even expecting such a hard reaction?"

"Well, as a matter of fact, I considered weakening the Barons as an argument in favor of the harbor."

"Are you saying that you do it on purpose."

"The main reason was building the harbor to channel Arendelle's new commerce through it. But I have to recognize that clipping the Baron's wings was a welcomed collateral effect. The external Barons have always been an opposing power to the Crown. When the Crown is strong they are just a nuisance, but when the Crown is weak they become a real danger." Elsa paused and gazed at Anna's eyes before went on. "And the three years between our parent's death and my coronation were a period of extreme weakness for he Crown. Kai did his best, but a seneschal isn't a Queen. And they gathered too much power taking Crown's rights."

"What kind of rights?" Anna asked a bit overwhelmed by the great amount of unexpected information. Elsa seldom, if ever, had been so frank talking about Arendelle.

"They took control of the taxes and fees charged over the timber transferred through their ports and, when I asked them for the taxes and fees back, they closed ranks against me. It was a really difficult meeting." Elsa replied, gazing into space. Anna could tell Elsa was uncomfortable talking about it.

"And did you recover them?"

" No. It was one of my first meetings and I was not prepared. But one day I will recover them!" Elsa answered, frowning.

"At least they seem sympathetic to us regarding the issue of the conference."

"Why do you think so?" Elsa raised her eyebrows with a mischievous smile on her face.

" Well, they didn't seem pleased when Asgrim talk about our marriage."

"That's for sure, although they detest the conference because Clarence and Ebbe were trying to marry me before."

"What?" Anna's eyes widened in surprise.

"They spend a lot of time trying to persuade me that such a marriage would be the best for Arendelle. But England put an abrupt end to their expectations. "

"Didn't you say them that you will never marry?"

Elsa looked embarrassed. "I did, though I have to recognize that I wasn't so clear as with you."

"Why? Are you interested in one of them?"

"Of course not!" Elsa quickly replied." But I thought they would moderate their opposition to the harbor if they expected to marry me. It will belong to them after our supposed marriage."

"So you lied them?"

"I didn't lie! They believed that I needed a husband to protect me and I wasn't too emphatic refuting it." Elsa hesitated for a second before went on." I have to recognize that I'm not proud of it, but I thought it was necessary."

"I'm not reproaching you for it! I think it's really funny. You were flirting with them." Anna replied, giggling.

"I assure that flirting is not the correct word in such issues. A fishmonger selling fish in Arendelle's main square is more romantic!"

"Why they supposed that you would want to marry one of them? They are old enough to be our father!"

"Well, they thought of me as an innocent virgin in search of protection and comfort, consequently they stated their willingness to carry the heavy burden of Arendelle's crown in order to offer me that protection."

Anna giggled. "Elsa, we are two innocent virgins, unless you have something really interesting to tell me."

Elsa threw her head back while grinning. "I have lost my innocence bargaining with them and I'm in no hurry, as I told you, to get rid of my virginity. If you come to the meetings, you will also lost any bit of innocence you could still retain. Regarding the other point I'm sure you have a candidate in mind to solve it." Elsa said the last phrase with a twinkle in her eyes and a knowing smile on her lips.

Anna flushed. "Herolf also seemed displeased, did he also try yo marry you?" She said changing the subject.

"No. The northern Barons are cousins and they would have join against him if he had tried to marry me, so he proposed to marry his eldest son , Herolf the young, with you instead."

Anna remembered Herolf's son. He was a younger replica of his father, including the huge aquiline nose. She gulped. "And what did you tell him."

"That you would be free to choose your husband. If his son was able to convince you to marry him, I would have given my blessing. He even tried to approach you. Do you remember him? I introduced him to you in a ball the last spring."

Anna remembered dancing with him in that ball. "Was he already... interested in me when we danced?"

"Of course he was!" Elsa replied with sly smile on her face. "I think Herolf had great expectations in that ball, but you only danced once with his son and the rest of the night with Kristoff and heavens know that he was a far better dancer that Kristoff. So after that night, he become less insistent. Anyway, few weeks later, we received the English letter that started all this mess. "

"And Asgrim? He haven't tried to marry anyone of us?"

"No. He is an old widower without sons and I have been told he hates the cousins that will inherit his title at his death. So he wasn't very interested in the bride market, although he was happy to see the expectations of their colleges foiled by the English.

Anna thought for a moment about all the received information. It pictured an utterly different Arendelle."What a wonderful group! And you didn't said me anything about them!" Despite she was trying to be angry with Elsa for what she had been hiding, her voice was soft and tender as a person who have received a gift so valuable that feels uncomfortable accepting it.

"Why? They were just a minor nuisance I was sure that I could handle them. You and Kristoff were already busy helping me in the harbor and the mountains."

"But you supported the brunt of the Kingdom!"

"Anna the really important work is the harbor and the mountain paths which give meaning to it, and in both you and Kristoff have been essentials. Anyway until the English meddled, the Barons were under control."

"And now?"

"Now, they are Arendelle's weak point. They are a potential support for any stranger interested in controlling Arendelle."

Anna thought about the four Barons, about their smirks and disdainful glances towards Elsa and, once again, she couldn't say why, she realized how much she missed Olaf.


	18. Stroll to the Past

Kurt von Schrader was shaving his face in the little room assigned to him in Arendelle's castle. He enjoyed the sun beams which entered through the window while looking the new ice constructions over the castle roofs.

"The damned Blenheim Palace! It is not bad at all. Taking into account that it has been done by the Queen of a little country lost in the middle of nowhere." He said to himself in amazement.

There was a knock at the door. "Are you here Kurt?" Otto's voice came from the other side of the door.

"Come in, it's open." Replied Kurt without even turning. His brother entered into the room closing the door behind him.

"Have you seen the Blenheim palace over the castle? It's impressive." Kurt said nodding towards the window.

"Yes." Otto replied without interest while looking at her bare chested brother while he finished his shave.

"Have you wormed anything out of our uncle?" Asked Kurt.

"I couldn't. You know how he is. He likes secrets. And he is being specially secretive about his intentions about you, he outline a lot of excuses but doesn't explain the real reason. But you don't bring a stallion to a farm just to show it."

Kurt grimaced at Otto's words."Maybe he wants me here to gather information about Arendelle."

Otto shook his head. "If we get Arendelle we could obtain all the information we desire. If we don't... well we wouldn't give a fig for it." Otto noticed Kurt's sketchbook, a thick book bound in leather, over the table. He reached it and started to turn its pages while talking. "You know that the main weakness of our uncle's candidature is that Arendelle would become integrated into our County if he married Queen Elsa and the English wouldn't allow Prussian territories in the shore of the Northern Sea. They don't want great powers in the coast of its neighbor seas thus Prussia must remain confined into the Baltic. If you married Queen Elsa, as you aren't the heir, that problem would disappear. Arendelle wouldn't become integrated into the county and you will be just the founder of a fellow Prussian line in Norway. That's all. "

Kurt finished shaving and went closer to his brother while drying his face with a towel. "So I'm an emergency spare to make acceptable our candidature."

" I suppose that, but it is only an educated guess." Otto replied while going through the book pages. There was some drawings of Arendelle's castle and a lot of paintings of the people including the guards. The drawings specially detailed the equipment of the soldiers. "The castle is an old relic. It is useless from the military point of view, but Arendelle's soldiers are very well equipped." Otto stated, looking with interest to the details in Kurt's sketches.

"Yes. I was also surprised when I noticed that. It is not usual in a minor kingdom like this to have such fine weapons. And they seem well trained."

"How do you know it?" Otto asked.

"I saw yesterday a section returning from the forest after training. They looked battered as if they have been training hard, although they maintained the discipline. "

Otto grimaced when he turned the next page. The reason of his displeasure was the portrait of a French cuirassier. The drawing wasn't a sketch just detailing the equipment as the other pictures. It was a fine portrait of the soldier which showed his elegance and strong constitution.

Otto shot an irate glance with his almost colorless grey eyes towards her younger brother. The scar in his left cheek paled.

Kurt shrugged in a gesture of defiance. He knew that his brother's scar wasn't growing pale, actually, his cheeks were slightly turning red, but it was visible only due to the contrast with the pale scar. Anyway, it was a sure sign he was was in anger. "You know my tastes. I don't restrict myself to Queens and princesses." He replied in a flippant tone of voice.

"We are in a diplomatic mission and I expected more self-control from you. You are my brother and I love you but you must.."

"Get off my back!" Kurt suddenly interrupted. "I have always been discreet. Nobody will notice."

"Don't you get tired of being always hiding?" Otto replied with heavy sarcasm in his voice.

"Do you talk about hiding? Why do you wear this civilian clothes? You are an officer of the Prussian Gardes du corps, a captain of cuirassiers, but you also hide it."

"I don't hide! I introduce myself as captain of the Garde, but wearing civilian clothes is less menacing in some occasions. Anyway you mustn't put in the same level being part of the Prussian army with your..." Otto hesitated about the word to use.

"Wicked tendencies, aberrant behavior, abnormal vice..." Completed his brother with mocking solicitude."Truth to be told, sometimes, I think that the army is a vice of our country. We are too fond of it." Kurt stated while throwing the towel on the bed.

"You are such a fool! How would your dream of a unified Germany become true without a strong army to do the dirty work? Do you really believe that it would be enough with your philosopher ideals? And if you like so much sincerity, why don't you explain your little secret to our uncle? So you would be left apart of the brides market."

"If I told the truth to uncle Friedrich he wouldn't accept it as a valid reason for not being married. He would just advise me to be discrete and you know it."

Otto grimaced at the mention of Friedrich von Schrader possible attitude and turned more pages in Kurt's book stopping when he saw a portrait of Rolf, Arendelle's captain of the guard.

"Maybe this man is responsible of Arendelle's guard quality. He is more than he seems." Otto said to change the subject.

"Why?" Quickly asked her brother, also willing to talk about any other subject.

"He hasn't been his entire live confined to minor skirmishes among Norwegian petty kingdoms. Our beloved uncle and him had a talk yesterday. They have a common acquaintance and we discovered that, during the wars against France, he fought into the Sweden army for the entire war and participated in the campaign of Hanover, the battle of Leipzig and other minor battles."

"But he was very young!"

"Yes, but he ended the war as captain in the Swedish army. The English could have a surprise with Arendelle's army." While talking, Otto was turning the pages, going through the portraits of Arendelle's people whom Kurt have been painting in the last few days.

"Do you believe that they could resist more than a few hours an English invasion?"Asked Kurt.

"Of course not! But Lord Halkket is overconfident, he acts as if Arendelle could be controlled just by the squad of marines from the frigate. And I believe that the English would need more people to annihilate Arendelle's guard. Besides, the French is moving better than expected, he had contacted the Bavarian to..." Otto suddenly stopped talking, he had reached a portrait of the Queen in Kurt's book.

"You caught her expression and beauty." He said after gazing for a while the portrait." Uncle Friedrich wants you to center your attention on her. Use your charm to approach her and her sister." His voice had a slight hint of disdain.

"That will be easy. This afternoon I will visit an old fortress and Princess Anna has kindly offered herself to guide me. In fact, I was preparing myself to go to the stables."

"Really!" Otto replied amazed." Your fondness for old buildings will be useful at last. "Will be only you with Anna in the excursion? "

"No. Allan Halkket will come with us and I suppose princess Anna will be accompanied by somebody." Answered Kurt while starting to put on his clothes.

"Allan Halkket!" Otto's mouth twisted in a grimace. "I see that you and Allan are inseparable again?"

"Well. He has changed, he is too proud..."

"He already was too proud five years ago." Otto stated curtly. He had left Kurt's book over the table and went closer to the door.

" Not like now. He has become a fanatic of the British empire. When he left England five years ago he was really proud to be English. But now, he talks about the British empire as if it was the Holy Grail and he was a kind of Percival. And..." Kurt hesitated for a second.

"And?" Otto asked, putting his hand over the doorknob.

"Why does uncle Friedrich want information about the Queen? Nobody is going to care about her opinion, she will be just a puppet in the hands of the great powers regardless of her majesty or beauty." Kurt stated while sitting on the bed to put his boots on.

"She is the Snow Queen. Maybe our uncle wants to know the magnitude of her powers." Replied Otto, opening the door.

Kurt signaled with the boot he was holding in his right hand towards the window and the ice palace over the roofs, raising his eyebrows in a mute question, like saying what more do you need?

"Maybe he wants you to know your future wife or sister in law! " Replied Otto, closing quickly the door to avoid being hit by the boot that Kurt had thrown at him.

Allan Halkett was examining the horse provided by the stable boy. It was a fine animal of good appearance. He had asked for a spirited mount and he had been satisfied. On the contrary Kurt's horse was a tame animal good only for quiet rides. Allan looked at the two additional horses that the boy had brought."Which one is Princess Anna's horse?" Asked to the young, half speaking half gesturing since Allan didn't know a single word of Norwegian. He was delighted to know that Anna's horse was the white one. It was a splendid animal, appropriate only for skilled riders, and fitted with Allan's ideas about Anna. The other one was a quiet mare that Allan supposed would be used by an old woman who would go with her.

"Are you ready Englishman?"

Allan turned and saw Kurt approaching holding his sketchbook under his left arm.

"You must make an official diplomatic complaint. This is not a horse but a disguised old mule."

"It is just what I asked for." Kurt replied with a smile. "I don't have Otto's fondness for stallions which try to break the rider's neck."

Allan sighed." I see that only me and Princess Anna are going to have a real ride."

"Do you like her?" Suddenly asked Kurt, trying to catch his friend out of balance.

Allan seemed uncomfortable at the question. "What do you mean?" He replied at last.

"Then it is true!" Kurt thought. He had been supposing something like this from the ball. Allan wasn't used to hide his emotions and the way he looked at Anna when he believed that no body was looking at him was revealing. Kurt had been about to tell it to Otto but he had restrained in the last second since he was not sure and he was reluctant to talk about the private feelings of his friend. "What are you playing at?" Kurt blurted to his friend.

Allan looked around to be sure that nobody was near. "Well, she is a fascinating woman. The way she dealt with the hussars was really brave."

"She was in the capital of her Kingdom. She wasn't in real danger at any time."

"I know! Anyway it isn't usual for a lady to be brave enough to confront a dozen of hussars alone. She could just have called the guards."

"You forget that his lover, boyfriend or whatever he is, was at her side."

Allan grimaced at the mention of Kristoff. "I don't believe what people say about them. He is a low-born man, unworthy to marry a woman like her. What he could offer to her?"

Kurt was about to reply that he didn't know since he had never been in Anna's bedroom, but he decided that it would be useless. Allan had always been rush and stubborn, more than usual, in everything regarding women. In fact one of the reasons to send him to India five years ago was a problem he had with one."

"Do you realize that you must line up with twenty other candidates."

"Yes. It is an outrageous situation."

Kurt wasn't sure what Allan found so outrageous, Anna suffering such humiliating situation or that he had twenty undesired competitors. "Allan! Half Europe is looking at Arendelle to find a solution to Queen Elsa's dilemma and you want to play Romeo and Juliette in front of such a distinguished audience. Do you really believe that you could marry one of the most desired brides in Europe?" Kurt decided to be clear. His friend could get into trouble.

"I'm not one of those petty fops. I have resources to obtain what I want."

"What the hell are you talking about? Don't you believe that..." Kurt suddenly stopped talking, he had noticed that Princess Ana and the Queen were coming. At that very moment, he realized that there were four horses ready and he blessed his good luck. If Otto wants information about the Queen he was going to have plenty of it.

The old fortress had been the main seat of the house of Arendelle for centuries. But long time ago, one king had decided that a castle in the sea, built in a little island at the entrance of the inner bay, would be far better than one by the sea over a cliff. It was the time when Arendelle started to commerce with other nations.

The building was used as watchtower, due to its dominant view over the sea, until it was burned by an enemy incursion, in fact a raid from Westergard, long ago. Another watchtower was built in a better position and the remains of the old castle, deprived of any utility, slowly crumbled.

"Here was the guardroom by the main gate. There are the remains of a corridor that connected with the courtyard. I suppose it would be a barrel vault " Kurt von Schrader was in the middle of a lot of stones scattered in the top of a steep hill, looking around in delight.

"How are you so sure?" Said Elsa at his side smiling. It was difficult not to share the enthusiasm of the young German. "There are only a few rocks."

"But they are the basement. They define the spaces of any building. If you have studied other fortresses of similar epoch and style you can deduce how it was." Kurt explained while quickly drawing a sketch map of the fortress in his book

Elsa was fascinated by Kurt. The young man didn't look as a scholar. His tall, athletic figure and the thick black beard which gave him a wild look didn't match with Elsa's idea of an encyclopedist, but his curiosity for each detail of Arendelle history and his capacity to relate all the information that Elsa had explained, during the ride to the watchtower, about Arendelle history with other information he already knew about Scandinavia was just amazing.

"I think I saw an old picture of the fortress." Said Elsa.

"Really?" Replied Kurt.

"Yes, It's a landscape with the ruins a century ago. They were in better state, some walls remained standing and there was also an arch there."

"What kind of arch? I mean was in round in the top?" Kurt started to simulate the form of an arch with both hands.

"It was a round arch supported by two columns with cubic capitals and a rough abacus over each of them. Here is one of the abacus." Elsa signaled a great square slab half buried in the ground.

Kurt looked at Elsa, raising his eyebrows in surprise by the precision of Elsa's description.

Elsa smiled. "I like architecture and I studied the picture to analyze the old watchtower." Elsa tensed up remembering those days, always in her room, studying alone or with her parents.

"May I see that picture?" Kurt asked, but then he realized the strange expression on Elsa's face. "I'm sorry, I didn't..."

Elsa stopped daydreaming and turned towards Kurt. The day was windy but the morning was radiant, those days were distant and she felt a sudden surge of happiness.

"Of course you can, I will locate it for you. But it was like..." She waved and an arch of ice formed in what have been the entrance to the courtyard.

"Wow! After the Belvedere and the Blenheim Palace of ice, it should not surprise me, but it is amazing anyway." Kurt approached to the ice arch. "It has even the texture of the stone!"

Elsa can't help beaming." Do you recognize them? Both palaces I mean."

"Of course I have. I have been in both of them and the likeness is really remarkable. I hope that you will make a Prussian building."

Elsa giggled. "Yes."

"Which one?"

"I'm not going to tell you which one, but it is in Konigsberg."

"Wonderful! I studied there." Kurt moved away from the ruins and started to draw. Elsa saw he was busy and looked around to locate her sister and Allan. She hadn't got a single clue regarding the conference but she had enjoyed the ride anyway.

Anna and Allan were seated in a big rock facing the sea. Allan have been explaining how life was in India and China. Allan was a good storyteller and Anna was just fascinated hearing stories from far away lands.

"But why is England at war with china?" Was asking Anna when Elsa approached them.

"Because they don't let us to commerce with our goods in their harbors."

"Is it a fair reason to declare war on them? They have the right to choose their commerce partners." Anna was remembering Elsa's blanket ban on Weselton's commerce with Arendelle due to the Duke's behavior during the coronation, a year ago.

"It is not a logic decision. They are weak and decadent and try to block us the access to their markets because we are better traders than them. It is not a fair reason."

"His uncle decides who marries us and he decide who trade with China." Thought Elsa, sitting by Anna on the rock.

"We will teach them a lesson. We have assembled a fleet of ten ships of the line." Allan started to explain what was a ship of the line and its differences with a frigate.

Anna hesitated for a second, Elsa was listening to Allan explanations as if she didn't know what was a ship of the line, although, as Arendelle depended on the sea commerce, their parents had taken care of their education in maritime issues.

In fact when an interesting ship arrived to Arendelle their father always gathered both of them in the balcony of the library and explained in detail its characteristics and particularities. For Anna those were happy days. The ships had always been a source of happiness because they came from far away lands and she could be near Elsa, even if they didn't talk.

But now Elsa was listening and nodding at Allan explanation as if she didn't know the difference between port and starboard. Making questions about some details of Allan's explanations that Anna was sure she already knew.

"And how many frigates are needed to give support to ten ships of the line?" Asked Elsa with innocent look.

"It can vary greatly depending on the mission assigned. As we are going to strange waters and a great deal of exploration exploring will be needed, fifteen frigates have joined to the fleet."

Elsa was really interested in Allan explanations. Knowing the whereabouts of the English fleet was so necessary for Arendelle as breathing. They needed somebody in London passing that kind of information. How much work was needed in their information network!

"It is a long voyage, when will you return to Europe?" Asked Anna.

"We will be at least two or three years. This is the time we will need to go, return and beat them."

"Well, at least a part of the English fleet will be far away in the years to come." Thought Elsa. "This time includes the time to negotiate with them? You even may held a conference with the Chinese authorities. " Elsa asked, sincerely interested in how these issues were handled."

Anna sniggered when Elsa said the word conference, but Allan didn't pay attention. "We are not going to hold any negotiation. We will start the discussion with the roar of our cannons."

"But you are not trying even to negotiate with them?"

"Once the fleet is in China, peace is not an option. We would obtain better conditions after smashing the Chinese army."

"Do you really don't want to avoid a war?" Elsa couldn't help exclaiming.

" We have expended so much money sending the fleet that we have to maximize the profit. We cannot move the fleet and return with just a trade treaty."

"Are you saying that you will make war just to get more money?" Elsa was calm saying that, but Anna could tell that she was getting angry.

"It is not just the money. The public opinion in England want some kind of action against the Chinese, the newspapers have been inflaming public feelings. If we returned without a demonstration of England's power, they would be displeased."

"And what would say your newspapers if you send your ships against Arendelle." Elsa said to herself. "But..." Started to say the young Queen.

Anna rose to her feet, saying. "I believe Kurt has finished drawing. Let's see it!"

Elsa followed her younger sister. Allan surprised by the sudden reaction was left behind. "Thank you." Elsa whispered to Anna. " This captain gets on my nerves."

"I could tell it." Said Anna smiling. " I was about to explode. He seems to despise everything not British."

"Is Arendelle included in his disdain?"

"I haven't dared to talk. " Replied Anna.

Elsa and Anna approached to Kurt. The young German was finishing the drawing.

"You are good." Said Elsa , leaning in to see the book.

"Thank you." Replied Kurt, beaming.

"May I?"Asked Elsa pointing at Kurt's sketchbook.

"Of course!" Kurt Replied, handing Elsa the book.

She turned backwards the pages with Anna also watching. There was a portrait of Prince Vladimiras. The Lithuanian's bearing was excellently depicted.

"He is an imposing man." Said Kurt looking also at the sketchbook.

Elsa smiled and went on through the notebook. There were different portraits of the people from Arendelle. Corrado with his stark gaze, Rolf's lean face, Kai with his friendly expression and the portrait of a young French cuirassier. Elsa gazed for a while the portrait and Kurt had the strange sensation that she was able to notice something different in the painting. At least, Elsa turned the page and saw a portrait of Anna. The drawing was of better quality than the others, as if Kurt had spent more time in it, and showed Anna beaming. Anna's smile had been perfectly caught.

Anna giggled at the view of her portrait. "It's wonderful."

"Yes, do you paint them from heart?" Asked Elsa, turning the page.

"Yes, I'm good catching people's expressions." Kurt realized a strange expression on Elsa's face. The next drawing was of the young Queen. Elsa was displayed with poised and distant expression, but the portrait displayed in full splendor her breathtaking beauty.

Elsa couldn't help comparing the smiling expression caught by Kurt on Anna with her own cold bearing. She went on seeing different sketches of Arendelle, the village and the castle defenses. After them the book contained different landscapes of the Norwegian coast.

"You painted them during your travel to Arendelle?"

"Yes, the scenery was magnificent."

Kurt's skill painting was also remarkable with landscapes. Elsa went through them until she reached a picture different from the others. Instead of a landscape of the coast painted from a ship, it was a desolate landscape with a gloomy castle on the top of a cliff.

"Another of your crumbling castles?" Joked Anna.

"Ehhh... Yes." Replied Kurt obviously uncomfortable.

Elsa looked at Kurt, she didn't understand the sudden reaction of the German. She passed the next page and Anna gasped. Elsa got tense and felt a shiver down her spine.

In the sketchbook was a portrait of Prince Hans of Westergard. He had a sad expression and was slovenly, her chin badly shaved and his hair unkempt. Both sister remained silent looking at the drawing.

"I'm sorry I forget it was in this book." Said Kurt.

"Did you pay a visit to him in your way towards Arendelle?" Elsa calmly Asked .

"It was a coincidence. We made a stop in our way, to visit the old seat of the Westergard dynasty in the southern isles. He was confined in the old fortress."

"She don't seem in good conditions." Anna said his voice was strangely cold.

"That's true." Said Elsa thoughtfully. "Was he well cared for? "

"Well, I think..." Started to say Kurt.

"He was forgotten in that crumbling ruin." Allan interrupted, joining the group.

"Was the building in bad condition?" Asked Elsa.

"It is at splendid castle." Said Kurt.

" It was two centuries ago." Added Allan.

"He has servants and guards that care for him." Explained Kurt.

"And hate him since they are condemned to stay in that sullen place until he dies." Allan added.

"Does he receive visits from his relatives?" Asked Elsa, gazing at Kurt's eyes.

"He..." Kurt hesitated." According to him, he hadn't received any visit for the last year. "

"You have spoken with him!" Anna said.

"Yes, we talked with him for a while. The poor bastard was eager for talking anybody who wasn't one of his guards." Answered Allan.

Elsa and Anna looked at each other. Anna bit her lower lip.

The rest of the excursion both sisters were serious and distant. Kurt was surprised. He could tell that they weren't scared, they seemed sad. Kurt asked to herself what kind of people would be sad because they had found out that an old enemy was in such a desperate situation.


	19. Pawns

The setting sun was almost touching the peaks of the mountains and the shadows quickly enlarged. The huge brigantine rocked in the calm waters of the fiord, the imperial flag, which was decorated with the two headed eagle, flew flaccid at her stern. The cabin of the captain was just beneath the flag. It was a little room with the windows wide open in an attempt to catch the slightest trace of breeze.

"This damned endless Norwegian day is finally coming to an end." Exclaimed the captain as he moved his white bishop over the chess board. He was a veteran Genoese sailor in that ambiguous age with too many years left behind to be young but not enough to be and old man. He had a bald head round like a cannonball, dark skin which looked like old leather and piercing eyes. An earring in his left ear give him the look of a Barbary corsair.

"Then the bride and groom will enjoy a long wedding day." Replied Erick Simonyi, studying the Captain's movement. Erick had come to the ship accompanying Corrado and, once in the ship, he had discovered that the Captain was an old acquaintance from Erick's childhood in Italy.

The imperial navy was mainly based at Italy and the most of the crews and officers were Italians. Each ship was like a small floating Italian city, in which the different Italian accents had been mixed. Hearing such accents, Erick remembered his childhood in Italy when he jumped, following his father's postings in the imperial army, from one city to another.

The captain, whose name was Rollo, shared Erick's fondness for chess. They had bet a dozen of fine French wine bottles against Erick's knife, a tartar knife with a beautifully carved ivory handle. They have opened one of the bottles to enjoy it during the chess game by mutual agreement.

"Ah... the wedding, I also see it this morning. The bride was beautiful and radiant, as a bribe should be. But I suppose she and the groom are more interested in the wedding night than the day." They were talking about the wedding of two young people from Arendelle which has been celebrated that very morning. " I noticed that the bride wore a crown of white flowers and the friends of the groom tried to take the flowers off her hair and she rejected them. All was done joking but it seemed a kind of ritual.

"I have been told that all the brides in Arendelle wear a crown of white flowers. The groom take the flowers off during the wedding night."

"How delightfully symbolic!" Said the Captain smiling.

"And pragmatic."

"What do you mean by pragmatic?"

"So the groom can be sure that he has deflowered his wife during the wedding night, in one sense or another." Replied Erick smiling.

Rollo burst out laughing. "You are so impertinent as you were in the Plains. Talking about brides or brides to be, have you seen the Queen? People says that she is a beauty."

"She is as beauty as you can imagine and intelligent. If you could kidnap and sell her in a Turkish slave market, you would earn a fortune."

"I suppose that the candidates would complain, not to mention the Queen's reaction."

"The English would be happy to get rid of Queen Elsa and she would be smart enough to see that there is little difference between both situations."

The Genoese smiled with irony. "So bad is the conference?"

"It's worse! The rumors said that the Spanish candidate is mentally retarded. I don't understand why Christian Mullon, the French delegate, is giving support to such a candidate. He must have a very good reason but I am unable to figure out why!"

"Don't you knew the name of the candidate's mother?" The Captain asked, slyly smiling, obviously pleased to know more than his guest.

"Elisa Gonzaga." Erick replied. "She is French and a beautiful woman, she would be amazing to see when she was younger, although his manner is aloof and arrogant.

"Of course she is everything you have said!" You are too young to know her, but she is Elisa d'Arbanville.

"D'Arbanville? Is she related with Noel D'Arbanville the French Duke and shipyards owner?"

"Of course she is related! She is the daughter of the man who owns half the shipyards of France. All of them angry for Arendelle's timber. As you can see Mullon have a very good reason."

"I don't believe you old corsair, my father always said that you never speak the truth. If she was the daughter of such an important man, everybody would know it and she have always been named only as the widow of a Grandee of Spain."

"Your father was a wise man, but he was as liar as me." Said Rollo laughing. " And Elisa D'Arbanville is discrete about her family because his father send her as away as possible due to a scandal more than twenty years ago. Her marriage with the Spaniard was an exile and she disappeared from public life after the ceremony. Nobody remembers her and I suppose she prefers to be presented as the wife of a Grandee of Spain instead of the daughter of a Duke burdened with a questionable reputation."

"Nobody remembers her but you. You seem well informed." Replied Erick.

"In those times I used to sail to Toulon's naval base as a kind of courier between the Imperial and French navies. And I had business related with D'Arbanvile, his chateau is near Toulon."

"What kind of business could have an Imperial Captain with a French ship builder?"

"You are so innocent as when you were a kid and played with my elder son in the streets of Genoa. I have with him the kind of business that nobody writes down in the official books."

Erick supposed that the euphemism referred to smuggling. Rollo was descendant of an old Genoese dynasty of sailors and his ancestors included from great admirals to smugglers passing through pirates and corsairs. "Let's suppose it's true." Said Erick sipping his wine glass and savoring the excellent French wine. "Making business with her father is one thing and make acquaintance with the daughter is an utterly different one. Why do you are so well informed about her?"

"I attended some balls in D'Arbanville's mansion, more than twenty five years ago, and the D'Arbanvile family attended them, including Elisa and Christian Mullon."

"Mullon! The French delegate is also a relative of Noel D'Arbanville? "

"He is a distant cousin, but he had a sharp mind and Noel D'Arbanville took him under his protection and paid an excellent education for him. Noel D'Arbanville was very kind taking in account Mullon's past."

"What do you mean with Mullon's past?"

"Well, not his past but his father's past. During the French revolution he joined the revolution, and he was one of the representatives who voted in favor of beheading the King of France and held an important position in the Napoleonic navy."

Erick let out a whistle. "And he was the relative of a duke!"

"Yes. I suppose he wasn't overfond of the nobility to which his family was related. After the restoration of the monarchy in France, the father was exiled but his wife and son, Mullon, remained in France under the protection of his cousin Noel who, after the restoration of the monarchy, was the new duke. They would never met again, since according to D'Arbanville point of view he was a traitor to her family, class and country. But the boy wasn't condemned by the faults of her parents and was accepted as a distant relative in D'Arbanville's villa. He stayed with the family the long and hot summers of Toulon."

"So Mullon is D'Arbanville's front man." Asked Erick.

"Not exactly. In fact, I'm sure that D'Arbanville would have preferred anybody else. Mullon fell out of D'Arbanville's favor and he had to progress by his own efforts in the French diplomacy. He is sharp as a needle and some of his father friends had survived the Bourbon restoration and were valuable contacts."

"Why did he fell from D'Arbanville's favor?"

"Twenty years ago, it was rumored that he was overfond of women and Elisa D'Arbanville was too beautiful. She left her home to marry with the Spaniard and he was left to his fate."

"And Noel D'Arbanville one of France's most important, powerful and arrogant men is going to accept such a company for this enterprise? He would hate them! Why he would choose them to do his dirty work?"

"I lost contact with D'Arbanville long time ago, but I can imagine the situation. Mullon is assigned to deal with the English for Arendelle's spoils, spoils made of timber. " Rollo took a black bishop from the figures out of the board and put it in the middle of the table.

"France is rebuilding the war fleet lost during the war and Noel D' Arbanville's shipyards are working at full throttle to produce the so badly needed ships." He took a black rook and put it near the bishop.

"Ship building needs timber, a lot of timber. " Added Erick looking with interest the two black pieces.

"Of course it is needed. " Replied Rollo. "And in a forgotten corner of Spain Elisa D'Arbanville and her son were languishing, a son who holds a title that makes him the perfect candidate for Elsa's hand, the keeper of Arendelle's timber. Perhaps Elisa's son has a slight defect, but it is nothing to worry about." The Captain took the black Queen and placed it with the others, forming a triangle, and gulped his wine." They need each other. I suppose that the first meeting would be a funny thing to see. After more than twenty years I'm not sure that resentment is the appropriate word."

"And where is Elias?"

"You are right. The picture is not complete without him." Rollo put a white pawn in the center of the triangle formed by the three black figures. "I will use white for him, since he would be the only innocent in this nasty history."

"I agree with that." Replied Erick looking at the surrounded white piece while he asked to herself how much of the story he had heard was true.

Corrado was seated in the stern of the boat, looking at Erick who carefully took the basket full of wine bottles that a sailor was taking down with a rope from the deck.

"Goodbye Corrado, goodbye damned Hungarian." Shouted Rollo from the ship.

"Damned Hungarian? Don't you were supposed to be friends?" Asked Corrado frowning.

"And we will be friends again when we met." Replied Erick, smiling, as he took the oars and started to row towards the harbor.

"Now, We are alone. Could you please explain me why were you such a fool, rejecting Anna's hand." Asked Corrado with angry voice.

"Corrado, we have quarreled enough this morning. I don't want to talk about it anymore!"

"Then reconsider your rejection to be Anna's suitor."

"No, I will never accept that."

"So much you dislike the girl?"

"It's for my brother! I will never accept anything from him. Anna is not the problem she is gorgeous and charming."

"How do you know about her character? You have seen him only in the official reception"

"I have been in Arendelle for a month, do you remember? I'm the one who sleeps in the floor of your hall. It is easy to see her and Kristoff walking through Arendelle. And it is also easy to see that she is not the typical Princess."

"Then why don't you accept to be her suitor?."

"I supposed you were fond of them!"

"The one doesn't diminish the other"

"You like Anna, and do you don't mind if she is forced to marry, taking into account that she is in love with another man?"

"I don't like this situation, but they have a lot of possible candidates waiting. Your rejection is of no benefit to Anna, and will hurt your future prospects. Play the part of willing Imperial candidate, anyway it is unlikely that you would marry Anna "

"I don't want to be part of this farce. I only want to return to my regiment in the plains and kill people in peace and quiet. I have had enough diplomacy for a long while."

"I repeat you that your rejection doesn't help Anna."

"And I repeat you that I'm not going to help my brother in this issue. The more I learn about it, the less I like it!"

"Even if it could cost your military career? " Asked Corrado, leaning towards Erick.

"Yes! Do you have any other question?" Curtly replied Erick as he stopped rowing for a moment.

Corrado keep a sullen silence and Erick keep rowing for a while. The last beams of the sun glimmered on the quiet surface transforming the fiord waters in a golden river.

Erick looked around while rowing and beheld the new harbor. Some great cargo boats, waiting for the moment to be unloaded, were anchored in front of it. "Food and drinks for the ball, what a pity that the host will choke on them."

"Are you talking about the Queen? I don't understand why you dislike her." Corrado curtly said.

" Don't you believe that the celebrations are a bit excessive, taking into account what the objective of the conference?"

Corrado hesitated."The Queen has a good reason!"

"Queens and Kings always said that they have good and fair reasons, but at the end they aren't more intelligent or specially fair and just than the average people. Usually, they are only more ambitious and arrogant."

"Is this your opinion about El... the Queen?"

"I recognize she is specially intelligent."

"She is more intelligent than you. And you should..."

"I don't recognize your hand in the new harbor." Erick suddenly interrupted, trying to change the subject. "Do you had any collaborator in the design?"

"The initial design and a good deal of the details were made by the Queen. She had a sound understanding of the basic principles of engineering."

"The Queen designed that!" Said Erick in amazement.

"She didn't have the necessary experience to complete an enterprise of such magnitude, but she is a fast learner. She would already have learned all the necessary principles but for this stupid conference. Does that change your foolish opinion about her!"

"I have already recognized that she is smart, maybe smarter than me. But I want to have a talk with you about another issue." Replied Erick as he stopped rowing in the middle of the fiord, leaving the oars on their supports.

"Why do you stop here?"

"You never told me that you had two daughters. In fact, you didn't even say a word about your wife."

Corr ado's eyes widened in surprise. "How do you know that?"

"Gladiolas told me about them. He was trying to worm me out their whereabouts."

"Why the imperial delegate is so interested in my family?"

"It is Gladiolas' way to prepare the ground for a negotiation. He is looking for possible informers and your family could be a weak point to lean on you."

" Did he tell you that?"

"Of course not! He is very discreet, but I have seen him in action when I was in London with him."

"I see. I begin to understand why you took dislike to him and why you left your assignment in London to march to the Plains."

Erick shrugged. "He knows that your wife is French and you had two girls with her. He was interested in their current location."

"You can tell him that the last time I saw my eldest daughter was twenty years ago. She was six year old and she was near dead in her mother's arms. Her younger sister, who was three years old, had died the day before. And the mother died the following week. We were in Istanbul doing a work for the Sultan when an epidemic affected the city. I had been out of the empire for a long time. I fact I met my wife and fathered both daughters in France. When I returned to the empire, I didn't even care to inform anybody. That's why Ladislas was unable to locate them." Corrado took a deep breath, staring into space. "She had been crying the whole night and finally felt asleep in her mother's arms. I still can see her beautiful blonde hair."

"I'm sorry." Said Erick.

"It's water under the bridge!" Replied Corrado returning to his stark manner. "I don't know if this will be enough to buy your ticket to the Plains. Maybe Ladislas will be grateful enough to convince your brother to let you go."

"Do you think that I would have asked it so directly if I was going to say anything to Ladislas? I'm not so dumb!"

"Why don't you tell him? It is useless anyway."

"Anyway I'm not going to tell him anything. He can wait until hell freezes over."

"But.."

"Corrado!" Interrupted Erick while he took again the oars. "Are we going to quarrel again?" The boat started again his way towards the harbor, propelled by Erick strokes.

Kurt was in the battlements of the castle painting the fiord. There weren't soldiers and their equipment in the painting nor the castle and their fortifications nor the town and its access nor the mouth of the fiord with the shallow water zones, just the mountains and the glimmering effect of the setting sun on the water. A boat with two men aboard had stopped in the middle of the fiord and Kurt was adding it to its painting. The effects of the light were beautiful.

"You seem busy." Said Otto, coming up the stairs behind Kurt.

It made Kurt lose her concentration. He turned and looked at his elder brother. "What do you want Otto? As you have said, I'm busy."

"Do you get something interesting from your excursion."

"She is really intelligent, a true scholar. It is a pity that a scholar isn't what Arendelle needs in this moment."

"According to you, what does Arendelle need?"

"I don't know! Maybe a miracle."

"Stop your philosophical digressions and tell me what have you get about the Queen? Is she backing any candidate?"

"I believe she dislikes the entire bunch including Princes Anna's candidates."

"And who cares about it. I'm talking about politics. Does she support any side?"

"She is an intelligent, reserved and fascinating woman. As you can suppose It is not easy to worm anything out of her."

"So?"

"I have to meet her to see a picture. I will try to get more information. Now, could you please leave me alone? The light is dimming by the second."

Otto left Kurt alone and he tried to concentrate again in the drawing, but the boat had started to move again and the glimmer over the water had faded.

Kjersti, Kay's niece, was in the pier looking at the approaching boat. Both men inside were quarreling in a strange language. Kjersti disliked the newcomers, she had heard Kay saying that they had come to take away Queen Elsa and that make Queen Elsa and Princess Anna sad.

The boat had reached the pier and a man clad in black nimbly jumped to the pier and pulled the rope of the boat towards a bollard.

Kjersti approached to the stairs and seated on a barrel by the bollard.

"You are not going to get Queen Elsa nor Princess Anna." Kjersti said in Norwegian to the man who was mooring the boat.

The startled man turned and looked at the girl in surprise. "You are a fool!. Who comes to a country without even speaking the language of the country." The girl thought.

"The Queen is more intelligent than you and you will return to your country empty-handed." Kjersti went on with all the sarcasm she was able to gather.

The man went closer, smiling at Kjersti.

"He hasn't understood a single word." She said to herself, displaying a gap-toothed smile which transmitted innocence.

"You are right! " Suddenly the man said in Norwegian, though with a thick accent. "She is smarter than me so I will be content with you. I will take you to the Plains, we need woman brave and strong like you." He said the last words leaning towards Kjersti and gazing at her eyes.

Kjersti leaned back, loosing her balance. She was about to fall from the barrel she was sitting on, but the young man moved with lightning reflexes and caught her wrist, keeping her from falling.

"Easy, girl. I didn't mean to scare you." Said the man, smiling at her, still holding Kjersti arm.

She got rid of the man's hold and hesitated between running away or replying. "You are too old!" Finally she shouted before turning and running out followed by the laugh of the man.

"I'm too old!" Exclaimed Erick with feigned indignation, speaking again in Italian. "The man who take the white flowers from her hair when she has grown will have an interesting live." He said to Corrado who was waiting in the boat with the basket full of wine bottles in his hands.

"Could you stop saying nonsense and fetch your damned bottles?" He replied handing the basket to Erick.

The young hussar took the bottles and, after leaving them on the floor, helped his friend to disembark from the boat.

"Anyway, I thought that you should tell Ladislas what I have told you about my family." Grumbled Corrado while he was disembarking.

"Corrado, please!" Replied Erick raising his eyes to the sky.


	20. Duty

Elsa entered into the sauna, it was a long and narrow room with benches along the larger sides and a stove, in the short wall opposite to the door. The dim light was provided by the glowing embers of the stove and the little lamp which Elsa had brought with her. Every bench was long enough to accommodate two people lying down on it. The wooden walls were carved with intricate designs always centered in the crocus of Arendelle. Elsa removed her towel and stretched out on one of the benches. She felt the dry and heat air, and her skin reacting to it. Closing her eyes, the tired queen tried to relax. The little sauna with its wooden walls was a protected and silent space far away from the people and noise of the ball.

The door opened again and Anna entered into the room with a towel around her body. She giggled, seeing Elsa."Have you seen yourself?"

Elsa looked at her body, her skin had already reddened. "I suppose that being the snow queen, it is justified that I have some particular reactions regarding heat." She said, also giggling.

"Do you feel better?" Anna dubiously asked.

Elsa winced, she had started to relax, but she tensed up remembering the incident at the ball . "He combine stupidity and bad manners in a quite exceptional way"

"It was my fault. I should have kept silent."

"You were very kind. I don't even had to volunteer you as I had to do with the duke of Weselton."

Anna smiled remembering the incident with the duke a year ago during the coronation ball. The situation had been similar, Adrian Simonyi, the imperial candidate to Elsa's hand had come closer to the throne and had asked to dance with Elsa the next waltz. Elsa had politely but firmly refused arguing that she didn't dance. But Adrian's gaze had expressed so much indignation that Anna couldn't avoid to offer herself to take her sister's place. Something in Adrian's expression had frightened her and it had been the only way she had seen to help Elsa.

But the imperial candidate didn't like the offer " I am not here to accept a spare." Had replied Adrian. He hadn't even looked at Anna when replying, always talking only with Elsa.

Elsa had get angry with the disdainful response towards Anna. "How he dare!" She had thought, feeling a sudden burst of rage.

"Then I suggest you to go back the same way you had come." Replied Elsa in her most polite tone of voice.

Adrian Simonyi was taken aback by the reply. Obviously, He wasn't used to such replies. He was going to reply himself when Ladislas the imperial delegate interceded to avoid an incident.

"Both brothers seem to be very difficult people. It should go with their family." Stated Anna.

"Yes they are." Said Elsa remembering the discussions with both Simonyi."And what did you heard before it. You came to me fuming and saying that you had heard something, but Adrian meddled in our talk and you didn't explain me anything.

"Oh, Yes!" Exclaimed Anna. "I overheard a conversation between the Bishop Bodo and Lord Halkett."

"The bishop! Since my powers were revealed a year ago, he always look at me as if I was a witch. Sometimes I believe that he would have preferred Hans as King of Arendelle instead of me. What was he talking about with our beloved English guest?" Elsa said her last question with an ironic tone of voice.

"He was saying to Lord Halkett that at least one of our weddings should be done in Arendelle."

"What?" Elsa asked, opening her closed eyes.

"He said that, as Bishop of Arendelle, he had the right to officiate the weddings or, at least, one of them."

Elsa put her hands over her eyes and shook her head."I have to read carefully my attributions regarding the bishop of Arendelle. It should be a way to get rid of this nasty man."

"You can change the official religion of Arendele." Said Anna giggling.

Elsa laughed. "It might be a way. I could ask Rome to send me a catholic bishop. But I fear that this only would double my problems. I have enough with a bishop, let alone two!" Joked Elsa.

"He only cares in officiate the wedding and I shiver when I think about it." Anna hesitated for a moment before going on. "Have you thought about the wedding night?"

"I have tried to avoid thinking about it. Have you thought about it?"

"It crossed my mind from time to time."

Both sisters remained in silent for a while, each lost in her own thoughts.

"Well. Everybody isn't so surly as the Imperials. The riding to the old watchtower has been really interesting." Finally, said Anna, breaking the silence with a brave smile on her face.

"I hope you don't include Allan Halkett among the people you are fond of. When he talks, I feel that I'm talking with Lord Howard, his uncle."

"Yes. When he talks about the English Empire, I get nervous, but he is also an excellent storyteller and his descriptions of Indian cities seem taken from the stories of One Thousand and One Nights."

Elsa giggled. "I see that you like those histories."

"Yes, I remember when I was a child and I dreamed of traveling to far away places. I envy him, he had done what I just dreamed. He is very kind to explain all those stories."

"In fact, I think he like it, more than you think."

"What do you mean?" Asked Anna, frowning.

"Well, sometimes he looks at you in a strange way."

"To me! Come on!" Anna burst out laughing. "You are supposing too much, he is not a candidate."

"Maybe he had decided to apply to the post by himself." Said Elsa, the right corner of her mouth quirking upward in a mischievous half smile.

"I have problems enough, twenty two, to be exact." Replied Anna waving her hand as if he was putting aside Allan and the entire British empire. "What about Kurt? You seem to be very fond of him."

"His knowledge is impressive. I have read a lot of books of German writers, but he had not just read them, he had talked with the authors or even worked with them. Goethe, Hegel, Shopenhauer, Holderlin, Schelling..."

"Yes. We are very isolated in Arendelle, all the places he had seen, Rome, Paris, London. They are only things I read in a book to me, but he had walked through them." Said Anna with dreamy eyes.

"Yes. He is really charming, polite, gentile and cult, but we have to keep in mind that he is Friedrich von Schrader's nephew." Elsa hardened her voice. "Maybe he is so nice as he seems or maybe not, but he plays a part in the same schema than the others. Maybe his manners are a strategy to lower our guard. Sometimes, I have the sensation that he says what you want to hear. In the end I don't trust him, although I have to recognize that it is difficult not to be fond of him." Elsa raised to her feet. "I can't stand the sauna anymore. I will wait you in the pool." Elsa wrapped the towel around her and left the room.

"I will still stay a few minutes." Said Anna, leaning back against the wall and closing her eyes.

The sauna was placed in the basements of the castle. Elsa went down a flight of stairs by the door of the sauna and reached a little underground pool dimly illuminated by a great crack in the wall. A part of the crack was underwater and connected the pool with the fiord, through the section of the crack which was out of the water entered the moonlight. The ceiling and the walls of the room were made of stone and formed the foundations of the castle.

The room had been done before the castle. Its former function was as cistern to provide water for a little fortress which controlled the mouth of the inner bay. Later, the wall cracked and it become useless as a cistern but gained a new use as pool for the sauna.

Elsa removed again her towel and entered in the dark water, it wasn't cold enough, so she used her powers to cool it.

Elsa stay for a while in the middle of the pool waiting for her eyes to adapt to the dim light, while enjoying the sensation of the cold water. Sauna was relaxing but the pleasure of felling the cold penetrating inside her was glorious.

"Elsa!"

Elsa stopped daydreaming and looked at Anna. She was at the edge of the pool with her towel wrapped round her body. "Oh sorry!" Said Elsa , realizing that the pool surface was almost frozen. Elsa concentrated and the ice quickly started to thaw. The first time Elsa and Anna had shared the sauna, Anna had plunged into the water without previously checking its temperature. It have been necessary a hot water bath and huge cup of brandy to recover the young Princess. When Elsa relaxed, specially the days she was specially tired, she unconsciously cooled the water and it could become really cold as Anna had discovered.

"You can enter. It is almost boiling." Joked Elsa.

Anna cautiously put a foot into the water, Elsa's concept of hot was untrustworthy. "I suppose I can endure it." She finally said, removing her towel and entering into the water. Anna shivered at the cold sensation. "What were you looking at?"

"Have you ever noticed the shield over the door?" Asked Elsa.

Anna gazed at the lintel of the door. She saw the crocus of Arendelle carved in the stone. But it was strange, the crocus was depicted over a helm, a medieval helm. "I have just realized that it was here. Why the crocus is on a helmet?"

"It's an ancient version of Arendelle's crest. "

"I remember that!" Exclaimed Anna. "It comes from that battle in which the soldiers of Arendelle put a flower on their helmets to differentiate themselves from the soldiers of Westergard."

"Correct!" Exclaimed Elsa, smiling. "The external Barons had just recognized Arendelle as a Kingdom and accepted its sovereignty so as to face together the menace from Westergard. The armies of the Barons joined the army of the new King. But the leaders didn't know the other parts of the army and they feared that friendly soldiers could fight each other by mistake. Luckily, the new King of Arendelle saw a field full of blossomed crocus and decided that every soldier of Arendelle would put a flower on his helmet. They win the battle and the crocus over the helmet became the crest of the new Kingdom. The helmet disappeared with the passing of the time and only the crocus remains."

Anna was beholding her sister expression while Elsa explained the old story. Elsa had always loved such stories about Arendelle's past. "Confess it! Maybe he is an hypocrite but you would be delighted to explain that story to Kurt while showing him the crest."

Elsa sighted. "I have to recognize that I would like to do it. I'm sure he would know some unknown detail about that old story."

Anna giggled and Elsa looked at her with feigned anger. " at daylight and dressed!" She said emphasizing every word to her younger sister who couldn't help almost splitting her sides with laughter.

"I haven't said anything! It's all in your mind." Anna teased.

"I will teach you how to tread your Queen." Said Elsa trying to catch Anna, but her sister was quicker and swam with her legs to maintain herself apart.

"If the Queen moved quicker, maybe she could catch me." Said Anna while splashing water on Elsa's face.

"Little stinker, I will caught you." Elsa waved her hand and an ice wall formed in the pool blocking Anna's way."

"If you use you powers it is not fa..." Anna's complaint was interrupted when Elsa caught her and pushed her head down under the water. Both sister struggled for moment until Elsa let her sister go and Anna's head emerged, coughing and gasping for breath.

"Are you fine?" Asked Elsa, laughing.

"Yes, yes." Replied Anna panting and laughing at the same time while she tried to breathe." I have learned the lesson. I will never doubt again about your decision to be a nun. And Kurt is a liar, all of them are liars and you don't trust them."

"Not all of them." Elsa said thoughtfully. "I believe that one of them was sincere, but truth to be told I'm not sure if it was a virtue."

"Who are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Simonyi."

"Adrian Simonyi? Well, the scene in the ball has been sincere, stupid but sincere."

"No. I'm talking about his stepbrother, Captain Erick Simonyi."

"Ah.. you are talking about the quarrel in Corrado's home."

"Yes. Although it has been unpleasant, It has been also useful. I have got interesting information from him."

"What have you got? " Anna asked gazing with interest at her sister.

"Lord Howard is a front man of England's timber companies. The diplomat has been selected to take control of the timber production of Arendelle. He even owns a share in "Scandinavian timber" a main one. This isn't good news. They want Arendelle's timber and he will do whatever necessary. And according to Captain Simonyi whatever necessary might include quite nasty things. This coincides with some rumors about the activities of the English timber companies." Elsa shook her head." This blocks our options to influence him through his personal interests."

"And the French?" Asked Anna.

"I'm sure that Mullon is also related with France's timber companies. I have a confirmed report that described the greed for timber of the french navy in full reconstruction."

"What can we do?"

"Maybe I could influence in the final decision giving my support to a given candidate." Elsa felt a shiver down her spine at the thought of marry one of these strangers and Annas's gazed at Elsa with her eyes wide open. It was the first time that her elder sister was willing to accept her marriage with one of the candidates as a possibility.

"But what could be the best option for Arendelle?" Elsa went on.

" I doubt that any of the marriages proposed to you or me would be a solution." Stated Anna. "They would be the gate trough which Arendelle will be despoiled. "

Elsa thought for a moment."You are right. Any of them will owe his good fortune marrying me to the English or the French, therefore he will be in debt with one of them. Maybe Vladimiras, the Lithuanian Prince, could handle such a situation, but I couldn't tell if he would care about Arendelle. "

Anna emphatically nodded at her sister's words.

"Maybe Konrad would be the best option. Both kingdoms would join, therefore there wouldn't be a external ruler." Elsa dubiously said.

"I didn't trust him and, after the talk with Kurt and Allan about Hans, my suspicions have been confirmed." Anna quickly replied.

"I agree with that I was just checking all the options. He lied regarding Hans. And a man who can do that to his own brother would be a heartless ruler." Elsa thought for a while before went on. "Then we have to avoid the marriage, but it is difficult. A negotiation is based in giving and obtaining. A compromise should be obtained in which everybody gets something and everybody losses something. In wedding issues you marry or you don't marry. No compromise is possible. "

"Hey! Why are you talking only about your marriage? I'm also involved."

Elsa took a deep breath. "Ana, you aren't the Queen, it isn't your responsibility. You could resign from your title of princess and get rid of any responsibility. I should officially condemn your behavior, but it would be only a farce. I would understand you."

"Are you serious.?" Asked Anna in amazement. The proposition was utterly opposed to Elsa's way of doing things.

"Think about it! You could travel with Kristoff at your side. You could visit those far away lands you have been dreaming of since your childhood. You may start in Rome and visit Italy. You will have a generous income, money won't be a problem."

"And you?"

"My dreams are easier than yours. I could read everywhere, in addition, if the title of my husband was in Europe, I could receive writers and artists." Elsa smiled." I will be happy and you could pay me a visit every now and then. I think it is the best option Anna."

"Why don't you abdicate?"

"I'm the Queen. My duty is to protect Arendelle's people. I have been prepared for that."

"But you leave Arendelle a year ago. It was an abdication you even offered me the control of Arendelle."

"That was different I supposed that I couldn't be Queen after my powers had been revealed. But you show me that it wasn't true."

Both sister remained in silent in the dark water. Finally Anna broke the silence. "I remember the conversations with our parents. They always told me that my duty was to protect Arendelle's people and help you to be a great Queen."

"Did they?" Asked Elsa smiling."I had supposed they were training you to take my place if I failed due to my powers."

"They never took in account that option. I always was trained to be a Princess of Arendelle not a spare. I had to be your right hand!" Anna emphasized the last phrase, knowingly smiling.

Elsa feel touched for Anna's words. They were a reference to the games of their childhood before the accident which parted them. Elsa stretched out her hand in the darkness and held Anna's hand. "They also told me that my duty was to protect Arendelle, but you aren't the Queen and your sacrifice would be useless anyway. You don't have to..."

"I'm a Princess of Arendelle, I'm not going to elude my responsibilities." Anna hesitated before went on. "I'm not going to left you alone in this, Elsa, whatever the cost."

Elsa thoughtfully gazed at Anna in the dim light. The pale light of the moon entered through the great crack and its reflection in the water filled the room with lights and shadows. It was difficult to see details, but Elsa could tell that it had been difficult for Anna to say the last words."And what about Kristofff? Have you talk with him about it?"

"Yes. We have a talk about it." Replied Anna, remembering the conversation in the stables that very morning.

"And what's his opinion about that?"

"I don't know. In fact, I believe that he doesn't know either. Hopefully, The visit to his family will be good for him."

"His family? Ah... You are talking about the troll's festival, I have forgotten it! When does it start?"

"Kristoff will leave for the valley of the Living rock in three days. He must go, it's a holy ceremony for the trolls, the most important celebration in all the year. He will only attend the beginning of the ceremony, so he will return to Arendelle as soon as possible. "

"It's a pity that the conference has clashed with the ceremony. I would have liked to attend it."

"Me too. It was supposed to be my official presentation to Kristoff family." Her voice faltered for a second. "I fancied he would have asked me to marry him during the troll's festival. Her family is very straightforward and he might have been influenced by them. This damned conference has spoiled everything. " Sadness suddenly appeared on Anna's face as if it had been hidding inside her.

" I remember your description of her family." Said Elsa, softly smiling at her sister.

"He is too shy and the fact that I'm a Princess is a problem. He always feel insecure about what is correct and what is not correct to do."

"I am sure that he wouldn't need too much pressure to ask you." Elsa tried to comfort her sister passing her arm over her shoulders.

"Yes, but the question is what answer I could give him." Anna's voice faltered again.

"You could give him the response you want if you just accepted my proposal!" Elsa's voice was anxious.

Anna gazed at her sister's eyes. "I prefer to stay at your side in Arendelle." Replied Anna, the sadness had disappeared from Anna's expression, she was again happy and merry. "Thank you Elsa." Said softly Anna, kissing Elsa's cheek.

"I had to try." Said Elsa, shaking her head with a sad smile on her face."I'm sorry if I have pressed you too much."

Anna hugged her sister tightly. "I have to leave. It's late and I want to see Kristoff when he returns from Corrado's night hike. Do you come with me?" She asked to her elder sister while leaving the pool and wrapping herself in the large towel.

"No, I want to stay a bit more." Replied Elsa from the middle of the pool.

"Don't be trapped in solid ice!" Joked Anna as he crossed the door, leaving Elsa alone.

"It has never bothered me." Replied Elsa, feeling the water cooling down around her. She tried not to think about anything, but it was impossible. The last days have been too much intense and Elsa had been most of the evening engrossed in her own thoughts, much to Anna's concern. In addition, Anna's negative was an added reason to search a solution.

The conversations of the previous days occupied her mind. She disliked all, but the one with madam Gonzaga had been the worst. Maybe because she had been so heartlessly proud or because she was also a woman and anyway she had been as callously indifferent to her feelings as the men. But at the end, Elsa realized that what really affected her was that Gonzaga's fate, living in a strange country and having children with a man she didn't love, might be a premonition of Elsa's own future. Somebody could become mad in a situation like that. Truth to be told madam Gonzaga seemed mentally unbalanced. Would Elsa be affected in the same way? She shivered at the thought of it.

"Beautiful histories about charming princes are for children..." thought Elsa, remembering Gonzaga's words. "I'm not going to find any charming prince here, that's for sure. Everybody here is an enemy and will be moved only by his interests. I must find out a way to influence them through their interests, good intentions and dialog will be useless. "

Elsa remembered her parents. "Did you never have to handle a situation like this?" She asked silently to her father. "Did you marry our mother by love or forced by interest?" She had never thought about that. She had always seen her parents as a couple in love, but maybe they have married without love and it had appeared after. Maybe it had never appeared.

Elsa tried to get such useless thoughts out of her mind and relax. She looked around in the dim room and saw the crest of Arendelle over the door with the flower over the helmet. "I'm not going to get any inspiration from those days" She said to herself. "Those were days of warlords and the delegates only though about money. Only money matters to them and could affect their decisions."

Suddenly the solution was clear in Elsas's mind. It was opposed to anything she had thought before and was taken aback by its simplicity. The English and the French got what they want to a certain extent and the neutrality of Arendelle was preserved to a certain extent.

But the price! The cost will be atrocious. In fact the whole plan was horrible, but Elsa hadn't any option. "I'm the Queen. It's my duty. I have been trained all my live to something like this." Elsa felt a heavy burden over her soul, she didn't wear the crown of Arendelle, but she could feel its weight over her.

Elsa took a deep breath. She was the queen of Arendelle, therefore she was the sole person responsible. Nobody should know anything about her plan, specially Anna. She would fiercely oppose and thus she had to be kept apart until the plan was irreversible.

Elsa felt and sudden calm, at least, good or bad, she had a plan. She wouldn't be a defenseless lamb going to the slaughter any more. Although, truth to be told, if her plan failed or the English found her intention out, maybe she would really be slaughtered.

The young Queen remained in the pool for a long time, beholding the old crest of Arendelle over the door while tears trickled on her cheeks. She felt cold in her soul, but she knew that the ice floating around her had nothing to do with it.


	21. Snake Charmer

Elsa and Anna were in a meeting with Kai to discuss about some minor issues that needed Elsa's approval. Anna was a bit tired. After having breakfast with her sister, Elsa had started to explain a lot of little details about Arendelle's government to Anna. It was a sad situation for Anna since she had supposed her elder sister was preparing her to manage Arendelle in Elsa's absence. Elsa hadn't said anything about that, but the implicit reason of the explanations had been hanging over both sisters.

"The bear hunt was very welcomed. A lot of people has expressed his interest in it." Kai stated.

Elsa clicked his tongue. "I wish they got lost in the forest. Is it really necessary to organize such a farce?"

"Some kind of entertainment is expected in a conference like this. Arendelle's prestige and your image as Queen it at stake!"

Anna giggled. Kai was very punctilious in protocol issues, maybe too much according to Anna's opinion.

"I suppose you are right, but it's a nuisance. We already have many more important issues to deal with."

"I understand you my Queen and I am also worried for the aftermath of the conference, but in diplomatic issues formalities are everything. When I announced the hunt last night, everybody applauded."

"You are right." Elsa dubiously said while frowning, she had remembered that after Kai's announcement of the bear hunt Adrian Simonyi had approached to the throne.

There was a knock at the door, an attendant entered and whispered something in Kai's ear.

"My Queen, as you asked me this morning, the English and French delegates have been watched. Lord Howard Halkett is now alone in the portrait room."

"Then I have to leave." Elsa quickly said as she raised to her feet.

"My Queen, I don't approve this kind of improvised meetings. You are Arendelle's Queen and a formal request for a meeting would be more appropriate." Said Kai.

"Last time I tried to do it this way. I was ignored and, when we met, it was at the worst moment. I want the meeting now and the more off guard I catch Lord Halkett, the better. I have no time for formalities." Elsa replied.

"It sounds great! Let's go for it!" Anna said also raising.

Elsa looked at Anna. " I think you'd better not come with me. He will be more receptive if we are alone and thus it will be easier to get something from him."

Anna quickly controlled herself, but Elsa could tell that she was surprised by the rejection. The young Queen turned her head to avoid her younger sister's gaze.

"I would prefer that you to go to the new harbor and talk with Corrado about the problems he had with the material being transferred in the night operations." Elsa said without looking at Anna.

"I will do as you want Elsa." Anna replied softly under her breath.

Elsa centered her attention in Kai to avoid looking at Anna. "Prepare a meting for this afternoon before the ball. Kristoff, Rolf and Corrado should also attend it. We will take stock of the current situation. I want a complete report of the activities of the delegates, specially the three main countries, England, France and the Empire. Corrado and Kristoff will report about their night business. "

"Yes Queen Elsa." Replied Kai nodding.

"Do I also have to attend it?" Anna Asked with a bit of irony in his voice.

"Of course you have to! You will be at my side in all the..." Elsa stopped talking. She was about to say 'mettings', but she could see the contradiction with the rejection to accept Anna in the meeting with Lord Halkett. Keeping Anna out of an important meeting was just what Elsa had promised not to do again. Elsa felt the necessity to explain everything to her sister, but she held back her feelings. " I want to see you in the meeting, please. I'm sorry but I have to leave."

"God luck." Said Anna when Elsa was crossing the door. Her voice has a point of regret that was like a thin dagger running through Elsa's heart.

* * *

Howart Halkett had been talking during almost two hours with prince Vladimiras. The Lithuanian, much to the veteran diplomatic surprise, was a skilled negotiator. He was searching a commercial partner to open his country to westerner commerce. There was a lot of influence at stake in the Baltic sea for the country which entered into Lithuania, and a lot of money for the companies involved.

It had been a hard bargain, the Lithuanian Prince knew the value of his part in the deal and was determined to get the corresponding return. At last Halkket had accepted to grant Elsa's hand to the young prince in exchange of the exclusivity in the Lithuanian commerce for the next ten years. Twenty would have been better but it has been impossible. Anyway, it meant to get a foothold in Lithuania and the Easter Baltic.

It seemed perfect. Vladimiras would control the young queen. The only negative detail had been his negative to ensure that Elsa would never return to Arendelle.

Von Schrader would have to resign himself to Princess Anna. A meeting with the Prussians had to be arranged this very day to inform them. It would be disagreeable if they received the news from a third source. Lord Halkett thought about how to handle the meeting with the Old Prussian Count as he headed for the portrait room. He liked to stay there, beholding the pictures. On the way to the room, he asked an attendant to bring him a glass of amontillado.

Once in the chamber, he stood in front of a beautiful picture of a young lady in a swing pushed by a man, supposedly her lover. Halkett was captivated beholding the graceful movement, so well caught by the painter when he realized that the young Queen of Arendele was entering into the room.

"Queen Elsa." He said bowing his head. "I don't want to disturb you. With your permission, I will leave immediately"

"Lord Halkett, what a pleasant coincidence! I will be delighted to talk with you."

"If you want to know if any decision has been taken about any candidate, I am sorry to say that I haven´t done the slightest advance. I still haven't seen any candidate who deserve you or your sister. You can be sure that I will keep you informed about any advance."

"Thank you Lord Halkett, I know I cant trust you in this point." Said Elsa with a charming smile but I want to have a talk with you about a different issue."

"I am at your disposal."

"I have been pondering about changing the way Arendelle manages his timber commerce."

"Poor girl, anything you made would have to be confirmed by your future husband in a few weeks." Thought Lord Halkett, asking to her self how to get rid of Elsa.

"Now Arendelle sells its timber on an annual basis. Every year we sell the timber …to whom offers the best price. I think that a longer compromise would fit better to our interests." Elsa said.

"Really?"Said Lord Halkett with sudden interest, timber commerce was his field of activity and the timber of Arendelle was a great deal.

"Yes, I think that a compromise for the next ten years to sell a certain amount of our timber to a given buyer at a given price will give us stability in our income."

"That's true. What amount of timber we are talking about?" Lord Halkett asked.

"Roughly half the production of Arendelle of last year." Elsa replied.

Lord Halkett was silent for a moment. That was a really huge amount of timber. There was a lot of money at stake. "Have you thought in a particular partner? England have several companies that may be interested." The diplomat's voice was indifferent as if he was talking about a petty issue.

"Yes, I have good references about Scandinavian timber. Do you know it?" Elsa replied gazing at Halkett's eyes. She felt like one of these snake charmers that she once saw in an Anna's book.

Lord Halkett returned Elsa's gaze for a long moment, smiling like a pride parent looking at a son who showed an unexpected skill. "I suppose that a compromise like that will have a price."

Elsa tried to hide her emotions, this was the critical point if Lord Halkett had the slightest glimpse of her real intentions everything was lost. "Yes, von Schrader. I want him out of the conference." He said with her voice slightly trembling.

"She really dislike the old libertine. I can't blame her for it. " Thought Lord Halkett before replying. "Von Schrader is a loyal ally of England, but he had laid his claim on his own. England don't have any influence on him." Lord Halkett gently replied.

"Of course, but you I'm not talking with England. I'm talking with Lord Howart Halkett a man with great personal influence that knows how to move this kind of issues. Am I wrong?"

"You flatter me, but let's suppose that I could influence the Count. How would the details of the trade be?. "

Elsa and Lord Halkett immersed themselves in a long discussion about the appropriate price for the timber. Halkett tried to get too cheap a price but Elsa was firm in sustaining what she considered a cheap but fair price. Halkett did veiled allusions to the viability of the trade and that he would need an 'acceptable' earning, according to his criteria, to convince the necessary people in Scandinavian Timber to lean on the Prussian.

Finally, Elsa accepted an added clause which established that the price would be lowered if a certain proportion of the remaining Arendelle's timber production was sold at a lower price to any other third party.

"I want to add another detail in exchange." Said Elsa after accepting the English request.

"And what is this detail?" Lord Halkett suspiciously asked .

"My people fears the frigate that you have placed in the fiord. I want to make this pact a symbol of the good relations between Arendelle and England. I want the deal to be done between England and Arendelle. "

"She is begging me for empty gestures of peace, how delightful feminine." Halkett thought before replying. "The deal is done with 'Escandinavian timber' not with the English government.

"Arendelle would demand that the deal was done through Scandinavian Timber. It should protect your interests and satisfy my people. I have accepted your addition to the deal, therefore I hope you will accept mine.".

After almost two hours of hard discussion, Elsa left the portraits room. Lord Halkett was exultant, Queen Elsa was willing to give the key to control the timber of Arendelle just in exchange for a minor point like von Schrader options to her hand as if there weren't a lot of alternative candidates. The young queen should learn a lot about bargaining, maybe prince Vladimiras her future husband will teach her.

Through Scandinavian timber, England would control an amount of timber roughly equivalent to half the production of Arendelle and Escandinavian timber would earn such a great deal of Arendelle's timber avoiding the Competition that after the conference would be among the English companies to take control of the share of timber assigned to England. The profits would be impressive.

The Queen had been adamant about the timber price, but anyway she had accepted the trap of the added clause. It would be easy after the conference to press Elsa's husband to accept selling that amount at a lower price to any other country and consequently activating the clause to lower the price. And it has been obtained in exchange of an empty peace gesture, as if a lot of alternative candidates weren't waiting for an option. She should be really afraid of England's power.

The conditions had to be sent as quick as possible to London for confirmation and the final contract had to be signed before the conference achieved an agreement. Lord Halkett didn't want to risk a rejection from Elsa if the final decision of the conference upset the young Queen.

And the meeting with von Schrader was critical now. The Prussian would dislike to lose all his options but Lord Halkett had an idea to avoid that. He was sure that it will please the old Count. The Englishman returned to its former position in front of the picture of the swing and immersed in it while sipping his sherry.

* * *

When Elsa left the portrait room headed towards her private rooms. In her bedroom, she slumped on the bed. She was not sure if her plan would work or she was just a little girl playing with her parent's tools. She feared that she was both things at the same time. "In this case I have to learn the rules of the adult world as quick as possible if I want to survive."

Elsa believed that Lord Halkett had taken the bait. Was the paternalistic smile on the diplomat's face, when she had said his excuse for including the English government in the deal, an indication that he hadn't seen Elsa's maneuver or was Lord Halkett just playing with a young and inexperienced Queen?

But it wasn't time for doubts, thought Elsa as she pushed aside a wisp of her bangs which was over her forehead. She needed to talk with Mullon but it will be impossible with Gonzaga around him. And She must talk with the French delegate before the conference achieved an agreement, she hope that the attendants watching him could catch him alone. But she needed to relax before that meeting.

"Would Anna have returned from the harbor?" Asked Elsa to herself, but on second thoughts, she decided that Anna would make questions about the meeting with the English delegate. Questions that Elsa wanted to avoid.

Elsa remembered Elias and the promise she had done of have more talks with him. Maybe thus was a good moment, the childlike innocence of the young Spaniard would be a welcomed change after the conversation with Halkett. When the young Queen left the room, she couldn't help being sad at heart, since she was avoiding her younger sister.

* * *

**AN: **Hi,

We start the third day of the conference. In the first two days (chapters seven to twenty) we have seen Elsa and Anna's first contact with the delegates and with other characters. I have tried to detail the relation between both sisters and their perspectives regarding the conference, and to delve into some characters personality and motivations. I hope you have enjoyed those chapters.

In the last chapter after seeing that dialog will be useless, Elsa have devised a plan to face the situation. She is going to put it into practice, but she is young and have been half her live shut in a room. So I have tried to depict her doubts when handling the delegates.

Thanks for the positive reviews, it's good to have some feedback and also the correction about story and history.

Regarding the opinion that most of the history is filler, I have to say that I have detailed the different motivations of some important countries involved in the conference (chapters 2-6) and the personality of the different characters coming to Arendelle due to the conference and the personality of my particular versions of Anna and Elsa (7-20). You could like or dislike them, but I recommend you to read them or you won't be able to understand some events to come.

See you in Arendelle ;)


	22. Diplomacy

Ladislas was about to lose his temper, they have been more that three hours discussing the same issue which they had been discussing yesterday, but reaching an agreement seemed impossible. They have to decide who will replace Erick in the formal claim for Princess Anna's hand. Berganza gave support to a young Count from Verona. Simonyi, after accepting that Erick couldn't be forced to marry, was trying to impose a young Austrian Count.

Berganza held to the principle that Simonyi already was claiming Queen's Elsa's hand and it was fair that princess Anna was claimed by one of his men. Simonyi, on the other hand, stated that the Emperor's had established that both candidates will come from his own household. Berganza replied that it was before his dukedom had been included by the emperor himself into the delegation.

Ladislas take a deep breath. He was the official leader of the delegation but he was just a Count and it was difficult to handle two Dukes. He had supposed that both men would reach an agreement on their own but the decision couldn't be postponed anymore.

"Dear Lords" Ladislas Interrupted the conversation between both Dukes. "We need an agreement in order to communicate the change to Queen Elsa. We cannot start to negotiate without a definitive candidate and I have arranged a meeting with the French delegate within two hours. We have to start moving this if we want to have any option." Both men looked at him, Simonyi with surprise as if he couldn't believe that a mere Count dared to interrupt him. Berganza seemed relieved, he looked like a man who had got what he had expected.

"I am the leader of the delegation so I assume the decision." Now, Ladislas was sure that he was playing into Berganza's hands, but wasting more time might cause the complete failure of the mission. "I have paid attention to your arguments and I think that the best option is our young comrade from Verona. His election as candidate will..."

"Are you joking?" Shouted Adrian. "You side with this Italian against your own kind!"

Ladislas blanched."I am sure that you didn't mean to said that." He said.

"Oh, don't worry" Said Berganza with friendly voice. "Our Hungarian comrade is a man of strong character, just like his brother."

"Why Berganza is talking about Erick?" Thought Ladislas." Maybe he want just to provoke Adrian's reaction. But he had been pretty interested in Erick's whereabouts since he had seen the brutal confrontation between both brothers when Erick rejected to be the Imperial candidate to Anna's hand." Ladislas disliked duke Simonyi out of line reactions but feared the gentle manners of the Italian.

"I will complain to the Emperor!" Said Simonyi after looking daggers at Berganza.

"I am sure of that." Replied Ladislas. "Anyway, I am going to communicate officially to Kai, the seneschal of the Queen that Erick is no more our candidate to Anna's hand." Now the daggers from Simonyi went to Ladislas.

"Please" Interrupted Berganza. "Now that we have an agreement, could you explain the proposition of the French?"

Ladislas used the opportunity to put and end to the discussion."He is organizing a committee with eight other lesser powers including between them Spain, Portugal and others. He wants us to join them."

"And what he gives in exchange?" Asked the Italian.

"Princess Anna's hand." Replied Ladislas.

"This is not acceptable. We are the empire. we are not inferior to anyone." Adrian exclaimed.

"Arendelle is far away from the empire. Our influence here is based just in our prestige getting princess Anna's hand would be enough." Replied Ladislas.

"I don't agree." Adrian curtly stated.

"What do you think Duke Berganza?" Said Ladislas, trying to get some support. The reason because Ladislas has supported Berganza's candidate was due to Simony's blind obstinacy to marry both candidates. It was something unacceptable for the French and the Imperial delegate supposed that the Italian Duke would give support to an option which could enforce his own prospects of marrying one of his men with Princess Anna, leaving Simonyi out.

Berganza smiled. "I don't have anything to object to my Hungarian comrade."

Ladislas was puzzled. "Why he had pressed to put her man in the claim just to leave him out. I suppose that he expect that Mullon reject the offer and then we have to accept Anna's hand." Ladislas said to himself before replying. "Then I will reject his offer unless he accept also our candidate for Queen's Elsa hand. I will guarantee him that France will have full access to the timber of Arendelle in exchange."

"Might that affect the wealth of Arendelle? I don't want to take up a ruined Kingdom." Simonyi said.

"He already considers that wealth as his personal property." Ladislas thought.

"We will ensure only the access not the price. France will pay a fair price. If they had access to the timber then maybe Mullon would give up Elsa's hand." Ladislas said while raising to his feet so as to finish the meeting before any other quarrel could break the brittle agreement. "I hope that the French delegate doesn't laugh in my face when I tell him that we want both ladies." Said the Hungarian to himself.

Ladislas left the room with a sigh of relief. He was spending more time and energy handling both Dukes than negotiating with the french and the English. He went for a walk in the gardens. He still had time enough before the meeting with Mullon, the French delegate, and a rest was badly needed.

Once in a quiet place, he weighed the available options up while he walked through the gardens, looking at the new ice structure over the castle. He needed some time until he recognized a stylized version of the Sainte Chapelle, with the characteristic delicate columns, in the great dome that covered the gardens.

After beholding the ice construction for a while, Ladislas finally decided that he was going to present the claim to Elsa's hand just as a feint to preserve the Empire's prestige, but he would lean on the claim to Anna's hand. Duke Simonyi could go to hell.

In that moment he saw Erick Simonyi entering into the castle courtyard through the main gate. Ladislas decided to make a last attempt. Erick was as stubborn as mule, but if he could be convinced Ladislas would avoid the humiliating scene of changing the official candidate once the conference had started. Anyway, giving Anna's hand to an Italian candidate hadn't generated any support from Berganza in return. Maybe Adrian Simonyi would be less offended for losing Elsa's hand if Anna's hand was given to a member of the Simonyi family. "Or maybe not." The veteran diplomat said to himself as he went closer to the young hussar who was striding through the courtyard.

"Hello Erick." Ladislas greeted Erick "Could you tell me something about Corrado's family?"

Erick shook his head. "I have tried to sound him out, but he reacts as if he haven't had any family. Are you sure of your source of information?"

Ladislas gave Erick a disappointed look."It's a pity. I need something to persuade your brother to let you go away. And now, it would be easier. You are out, I will make the official communication today."

"Great!" Exclaimed Erick. "Then I can leave Arendelle."

"No, as I told you, your brother wants you to stay here."

"Why!" Exclaimed the young captain. "Here I'm useless and my regiment has a campaign to fight."

"I fear your regiment should do the campaign without you. I see that you miss the Plains." Ladislas tone of voice was friendly.

"Yes, I have been in armies whose encampments were greater than this little kingdom. I just want to leave Arendelle and return to my regiment."

"Maybe, there's a way."

"What way?" Erick asked warily.

"If you accepted to be the candidate for Princess Anna's hand, your brother would be grateful enough to let you return to your regiment."

"Do you put together Adrian and grateful in the same phrase? I supposed you were better judging people."

"Perhaps the correct word is that your brother would be willing enough to negotiate your immediate return to the Plains."

"And who will marry Princess Anna if I'm in the Plains. Would you take my place in the wedding night?" Erick joked.

Ladislas smiled. "It would be a pleasant experience, but you could get married by proxy and complete such a minor detail of the ceremony during the winter months. Nobody fights in the Plains during the winter."

"Maybe Kristoff Bjorman would be willing to take my place."

"Who is Kris... Ah... You are talking about the fishmonger, Princess Anna's lover!" Ladislas exclaimed in disgust and Erick was sure that his contempt was not directed towards Kristoff.

"Ice seller he is an ice seller." Erick corrected.

"I don't care about his profession. Some people don't have a clear idea about the class to which they belong. If you are worried about him, he could have an accident." Erick couldn't help grimacing, but Ladislas quickly went on. "If you don't have the guts to do it, I could arrange it. Anyway, it is unlikely that the empire will get Anna. You could return to the plains and forget this nasty issue and It is sure that you would never heard again anything about Arendelle."

For a moment, Erick searched a polite and gentle way to send the Hungarian diplomat to hell, but suddenly he changed his mind."Is the empire going to lose Anna's hand? How could I be sure of that?" He asked with an eager expression on his face.

"The negotiations with the French aren't going well, at the end, the English and the French will divide up both sisters between their puppets. The empire will return empty-handed." Ladislas tried to picture the situation as black as possible to incite Erick's acceptance.

"Come on! You are good getting support from impossible places and combining incompatible demands. I'm sure that you and Mullon will be on good terms. The French is not a merchantman who pretends to be a noble as the Englishmen do. I'm sure that he is of noble birth with a flawless record just like you." Erick was trying a stab in the dark. Ladislas had lost his right arm due to the sword of a French cuirassier in Leipzig and was a firm believer in the "Old regime", therefore the only thing he hated more than a French was a revolutionary French or the son of a revolutionary French.

"I'm not an equal to Mullon." was the cold reply from the red-haired diplomat. "Maybe, his father was born in our class but he betrayed us."

"What do you mean?" Asked Erick, feigning surprise.

Ladislas doubted for a second, but at the end he decided that it could be necessary to convince Erick and feigning that Mullon's origin was interfering with the negotiations could be a solution. "His father joined the revolutionaries and was one of the murders of the King!"

"His father was a member of the national Convention! I don't believe it. If it was true, how could he be the representative of the Bourbon monarchy?"

"His family is important and some people lets false piety to influence them when dealing with such an important thing like treason."

"His family must be really important."

"Of course they are! Then are you going to be reasonable and maintain your claim to Princess Anna's hand."

"It seems that Rollo was right, at least regarding the relation between Mullon and Noel D'Arbanville." Erick thought. "I'm sorry Ladislas, but my brother is involved." Erick replied after deciding that Ladislas wasn't going to give more information.

"You are a fool, Erick and it will cost you dearly!" Replied the disappointed diplomat. Ladislas saw that Erick's initial interest and sudden final rejection had a hidden reason, but he was unable to find it out. He turned and left Erick alone in the middle of the courtyard.

In that very moment the bells of the castle chapel chimed and Ladislas hurried up to meet Mullon. Just when he arrived to the French chambers in the castle, King Konrad of Westergard went out. The Norwegian King seemed furious and could hardly control himself when he realized the presence of the Imperial diplomatic.

"King Konrad." Ladislas said bowing his head.

"Sir." The King slightly nodded his head as he left.

"Welcome my dear Count!"

Ladislas turned to see Christian Mullon in the door through which King Konrad has come." Hello Mister Mullon." Ladislas said, concealing his disdain for the French. Maybe Mullon's origin wouldn't interfere in the negotiations, but Ladislas couldn't help feeling scorn for the son of a revolutionary. "King Konrad seemed furious." The Hungarian casually remarked. "Did you have any problem?"

Mullon looked surprised. " A problem? No! I suppose he should be thinking about any minor nuisance regarding his Kingdom. The Kings are always worried, it's the price of the crown." Said the French diplomatic inviting Ladislas to enter with a wave on his hand as he brightly smiled.

Ladislas entered in the room, something told him that it was going to be a more difficult meeting that the previous meeting with both Dukes. And he also had to meet with Kai, Arendelle's seneschal, as soon as possible to make the official announcement of the new candidate for Princess Anna's hand. Ladislas considered that notifying it to Arendelle was just a formality. The key point was England and France, but he was a perfectionist in protocol issues even regarding with petty details like this.

* * *

Konrad of the Southern Isles entered brusquely in his chambers, startling his brother Stephan who was, as always, in his sempiternal desk.

"You seem angry. What's the problem." Stephan exclaimed alarmed. "have the English said something about your contacts with the French?"

"Do you have to be always frightened of the English? Sometimes I feel ashamed of being your brother." Konrad curtly replied.

"Don't take it out on me!. If the English is not the problem, maybe the French?" Stephan asked, trying to keep a calm face, but his voice had a note of irritation.

"You are the problem!" Konrad replied. " If you hadn't influenced me with your silly ideas, I wouldn't have forced the situation."

"Forcing the situation? What the hell have you..." Stephan suddenly stopped talking when he understood. "You have tried to get some kind of assurance from the French!" He went on in an amused tone of voice.

"Don't follow in this tone."Konrad surly replied.

"Let me guess." Stephan seemed to be teasing his brother, but his eyes where cold as ice. "You asked for some kind of assurance about Elsa's hand in exchange for your support. I suppose Mullon couldn't help laughing."

"He was indifferent to my arguments. He said that Duke Simonyi's lands were almost as large and wealth as my entire Kingdom and he said that the empire was supporting him. Mullon isn't a noble. He is just a low-born man without the due respect for royalty. France is full of men like this after the revolution." Konrad said with an indignant tone of voice.

Stephan stopped teasing. "Maybe he is a low-born man, but he is absolutely right. I told you that the French wasn't going to give Elsa to you, Anna at the most." His voice was hardened by sarcasm, but could not hide his growing resentment.

Konrad remained silent with a somber look in his eyes.

Stephan went on. "And what are you going to do now, future Frederick the Great of Norway? What are you going to do once that you have realized that the French option is a dead end and you have risked our privileged position with the English?" Stephan angrily asked. "You may have ruined all my plans!"

"I still have other options."

"Of course!. You could humbly beg Elsa to the Empire, but maybe they preferred to retain her." Stephan waved his arms in desperation, looking to the roof while he was talking.

"I'm not a coward like you. I have been devising alternative plans. I still keep an ace up my sleeve."

"Stop dreaming! The only choice we have left now, is to simulate that we are doing all this farce to get information for the English. Maybe, Lord Halkett will pretend he believe us."

"But then we would be renouncing to Arendlle!"

Stephan looked at his elder brother in silence for a long while before talking again. " You are exasperating."His voice sounded tired."In moments like this, I desire that Hans would have been the eldest brother. He has a fine instinct for what is possible and not. You would have ..."

Konrad suddenly slapped Stephan's face. It was only a hit, but it was a strong one. Both brothers gazed at each other in silence. Konrad was almost as surprised as Stephan. "I'm the King." Finally, Konrad stated with trembling voice. "I hope that you will remember your position from now on."

"What are we going to do my King?" Stephan slowly asked, stressing the last words.

"You will know and I assure you that Arendelle will be mine." Konrad left the room leaving Stephan in his desk who, once alone, slowly raised his right hand and touched with the finger tips the point where Konrad's hand had hit his face.

* * *

N.A: Hi,

In this chapter I detail the movements of other great and minor powers. Don't be afraid I'm not going to detail all the political maneuvers in the conference, only the ones that affect the story. I hope do you like them. Pay attention to the final discussion between Konrad and Stephan. it will be important in the medium and long term. The relation between both brothers is complex and I try to depict it without explaining it directly. I hope it has worked.

Thanks for the extensive review from drkphenix. I like history and I dedicated a great deal of time designing the historical setting and trying to create coherent characters with that setting. I'm glad you like them :). Sorry by my English errors :(. Any correction will be welcomed. Although I can't modify an uploaded chapter, I will take them in account for future use.

Regarding future events in the story everything is already designed until the end of the story (Now we are almost finishing the first third), but it is very interesting to read your predictions. I hope you will be pleased with the future development of the story.

See you in Arendelle ;)


	23. Old Friends and Young Lovers

"Elias, I have to leave." Elsa said as she got up. She and Elias had been talking under the flowered dogwood for a long while.

"Will you come later?" The young Spaniard asked, smiling.

"I can't. I have to talk with another person." Elsa replied also smiling. "And I hope that your mother won't meddle in the meeting." She said to herself, thinking about her pending meeting with Mullon. The conversation with the French was an unappealing situation, since Elsa didn't have enough information about the French delegate, but Elsa needed to get through it the sooner the better.

Elsa left Elias on the bench and waved at Pedro as she passed him, the Spanish soldier replied, bowing his head. Once alone Pedro hummed softly to himself a tune while looking at the lone figure of Elias.

"Hello." Said a voice in a Spanish with a thick accent.

Pedro turned to face a corpulent man clad in the red uniform of the British infantry. He stared at the newcomer without speaking.

"Is he the son of Francisco de Gonzaga?" The man asked, nodding towards Elias, with a broad smile on his face which was round like a full moon.

"Who is asking?" Pedro replied with an unfriendly tone of voice.

"My name is Collin Halkett and I knew Elias' father from the Peninsular Campaign. We were close friends. I just want to have a talk with his son." The Englishman explained without losing his smile.

"He told me something about you." Pedro replied in a less unfriendly, only dry tone.

"What was the young Queen talking with Elias?" The colonel asked, looking towards Elsa who was entering into the castle.

"He had been anxious since we had arrived to Arendelle. He is not used to be in strange countries and the Queen comes to talk and calm him down."

"That's very kind of her."

The Spaniard didn't reply and just looked at the newcomer.

"You are Pedro, aren't you?"

"My name is Pedro, but it is a common name in my country. Maybe you are talking about another man."

"I doubt it. Francisco de Gonzaga told me about a bright young lancer with a promising future who have been assigned to his son service. He was supposed to be a loyal companion to his son and his right hand when he would have grown up."

"Maybe, you are talking about me." Pedro shrugged his shoulder with indifference.

"But what are you doing with him? I was surprised when I see you attending him as a nanny. He will never be a complete man, just a tall kid. According to Francisco you are a promising cavalry soldier and you are wasting your future."

"Don Gonzaga also told me that you used to do very impertinent questions."

Collin Halkett laughed. "He used to say far worse things of me."

"Yes he said that you were a brave but too bold soldier. He said that you always risk too much."

"He always said that, in battle, I was crazy as a march hare, but we were good friends."

"He also talked about your Prussian friend."

"Friedrich von Schrader? He wasn't in good terms with him, as a matter of fact they despised each other. Francisco was a very strict man and Friedrich didn't fit with his ideas about honor. I have to say that Friedrich doesn't fit with any standard idea of honor."

"But he is your friend."

The Englishman shrugged. "We shared long years in the Peninsula, fighting in the King's German Legion. He is a Prussian cavalryman who suffered the destruction of his country's cavalry at Auerstadt. After Prussia signed the peace with France, he exiled from his country because he couldn't stand to be in Prussia under French domination. So he left title and privileges to cross the sea and joined the King's German Legion in England. He was sure that England will never accept the French rule over the continent and consequently he could fight the French until their final defeat. He has gone through hard times which have embittered him."

Pedro looked at the British colonel in silence.

"Returning to our previous point." Collin Halkett went on. "Why do you remain as a nanny of the poor Elias? You were intended to be his companion, but now it is a useless waste."

Pedro seemed reluctant to answer, but finally he replied. "If loyalty gives in to convenience, it means it's never been loyalty, only convenience. "

"Not only by your facial features do you look like Francisco."

"What are you insinuating?" A spark of anger flared in Pedro's eyes, it was the first sign of emotion he had displayed in the whole talk.

"Nothing, my young friend, nothing at all! But if I could do anything for you. You will find me in my regiment headquarters in England."

"It will not be necessary." Pedro replied in a cold tone of voice.

"He would have said the same." Replied Collin Halkett smiling. May I talk with Elias, I would also like to talk with him."

"Of course."

The corpulent Colonel approached to the young Spaniard. Elias looked at the tall man clad in his red uniform with apprehension.

"Hello Elias." Collin said with gentle and warm voice. "May I sit by you?."

The young man nervously nodded.

Collin seated by Elias. "I was an old friend of your father." Collin started to say, patting Elias' knee.

* * *

"Are you sure of that?" Kurt exclaimed.

"Of course I'm sure! Do you believe that I would tell you something like this I wasn't sure." Otto replied.

Kurt took a deep breath. "Then I will be candidate to Anna's hand." He thought in the young Princess of Arendelle and felt a great sadness for her. "Is our uncle excluded?"

"Yes. It seems that Halkett has done a very advantageous commercial pact with Queen Elsa and the main condition to sign it is to leave our uncle apart."

Kurt looked puzzled to his elder brother "Have been Elsa's only condition our uncle's exclusion? It makes no sense. There are a lot of other possible candidates."

"Maybe she isn't so bright as you pictured her. They have been able to do this change due to she didn't even exclude Prussia, just our uncle."

"Of course she is bright! But she hasn't any experience in a situation like this and she has to deal with experienced diplomats." Kurt said confused. "And why am only I the candidate for Anna's hand? Our uncle was the candidate for both sisters."

Otto raised his eyebrows. "Are you jealous or maybe you feel something different from just admiration for her supposed great intelligence."

"Sheer curiosity." Kurt replied, closing and putting aside the book he had been reading before Otto had entered in his room.

"Well, it seems that the Englishman has arranged some sort of treaty with the Lithuanian. Queen Elsa will have to travel towards the eastern Baltic."

"At least it isn't a too far away place, the climate is similar to Arendelle and Vladimiras maybe would be a good husband." Kurt thought.

"So, our uncle have accepted to relinquish his claim to both sisters and limit Prussian's aspirations to Anna, therefore Lord Halkett is in debt with our uncle."

"It's going to be strange that we change our candidate once the negotiations have started."

"You are not going to be the only one. The Imperials have also changed their candidate for Anna's hand. They have made the official announcement this very afternoon."

"The imperial candidate? Are you talking about a hussar clad in black and with a silver death head in his shako."

"Captain Erick Simonyi, that's his name. It's rumored that he is in very bad terms with his brother, the Duke Adrian Simonyi, and that's the reason to replace him by a Count from Verona."

Kurt remembered the hussar's Captain. He had seen him the first day of the conference with the rest of the imperial delegation and he seemed a wolf among hounds. "And what do you think?"

Otto thought for a second. "It looks like a struggle between Imperial factions. The replacement belongs to the household of the other Duke in the delegation. They have just balanced their claims among the two Dukes, that's all. I fear that the Captain has done a useless travel from the Plains."

"Has my claim been also officially announced?"

Otto shook his head. "We aren't going to do any formal announcement. This is a private accord between Lord Halkett and us. It will be introduced as a concession to the French. You would be a weaker link between Prussia and Arendelle than our uncle and the French are also sensitive to any Prussian empowering."

"So, Arendelle won't be informed!"

"Not officially, but they will find it out in a few days. "

"Are you sure that Elsa's only condition is to leave our uncle apart? Maybe the English is hiding something."

"She only added a useless clause, stating that the deal will be signed by England and Arendelle. She believes that it will consolidate peace between both countries. Lord Howard said that he's not sure whether she's more frightened of a war with England or a wedding with Friedrich von Schrader. Our uncle laughed for a long time the Englishman's joke."

"I'm sure they would be in very good terms."

"By no means, our uncle despises Lord Halkett. He is too snooty and it's easy to see that he dislikes our uncle's manner. "

"Why? Lord Halkett's brother is an old friend."

"Yes but Lord Halkett is very different from his brother and he is not compatible with our uncle. The relations are a bit strained, but you know our uncle's motto. If we just made deals with people we like, we would never make deals at all."

* * *

"Hurry up! It's late!" Prince Vladimiras said from his saddle to Antanas and Steponas.

The sun was setting and they were in the Lithuanian encampment. After the meeting with the English Vladimiras had felt the necessity to get rid of diplomacy and, after an interesting lunch with the French and other dignitaries, he had left with Steponas and Antanas towards the encampment.

A few hours of sword training surrounded by his men had allowed Vladimiras to temporally forget the dirty tricks of diplomacy and felt as if he was with his army in the middle of a campaign. It was late and they mounted in order to return to the castle. The horses had been provided by the stable of the castle and they were animals of a beautiful Norwegian breed which Vladimiras had never seen before.

The three men had just reached the main path towards Arendelle when Vladimiras noticed two riders coming from the village. They caugth his attention, since they weren't people from Arendelle, but their horses hadn't been provided by the stables of the castle. They weren't of Norwegian breed. One was a splendid trakehner from East Prussia. "I suppose Erick isn't the only one who has crossed the mountains to come to Arendelle." Vladimiras said to himself, looking at both men with curiosity.

"Are you ready for tomorrow? You have a challenge to win!" Steponas suddenly asked.

Vladimiras turned his head to face his old companion. "It's just a friendly bet with the French." The Prince answered.

" Nothing could be friendly with a French." Steponas replied.

"Steponas, Mullon and me have just made a bet on who will hunt the greatest bear tomorrow. It doesn't involve Lithuania nor France, it is just between Mullon and me."

"And Elias Gonzaga!" Antanas who was riding at Vladimiras side added, joining to the conversation.

Vladimiras doubted for a second. "Yes, and Elias Gonzaga, although I doubt that he knows how to hold a spear."

"It is not just a bet." Steponas replied outraged. " It's bear hunt! Your family ancestors were shapeshifters who could transform themselves in bears, it's the symbol of your family. Being beaten by a French in something like this would be a shame."

Vladimiras looked to the sky as if he was looking for patience. "Steponas, those are stories for children from the ancient times when Lithuania was a pagan country. I don't have any shapeshifter among my ancestors."

"If you believe in the Priest's devil why don't you believe in other things, our traditions are far older than any religion."

Antanas and Vladimiras looked at each other with a knowing smile on their faces.

"Uncle Vladimiras, Steponas considers Christianity a novelty! How are you going to change Lithuania with subjects like this?" Antanas cheerfully asked.

"I'm not sure. I suppose I will have to find it out on the fly." Vladimiras replied also in a jovial mood.

"You are not going to change us marrying with a foreigner Queen, let alone a winter witch." Steponas added.

"Don't talk about Queen Elsa in that way!" Antanas suddenly exclaimed.

Both men looked at the young one in surprise.

"Hey!" Steponas replied in a joking tone of voice. "You seem affected by her spells."

"I think that it has nothing to do with any magic. It's something more common that could be done by any beautiful girl." Vladimiras said, also teasing her young nephew.

"I don't understand what are you talking about." Antanas replied, flushing.

"Don't worry we understand it better than you. As a matter of fact, I suppose you are too young to fully understand it." Steponas said before roaring in laughter.

Antanas looked indignant to his uncle who was also laughing. Finally the Lithuanian turned his horse and ran away followed by the guffaws from his uncle and trainer.

"The boy is attracted to the Queen." Steponas said, stopping laughing and staring gravely at his Prince.

"It's perfectly normal. He is already a man and she is bright and has a regal bearing. In fact, she's the most qualified woman I have ever seen to be a Queen." While talking, Vladimiras was looking at Antanas with a pleased smile on his face.

"But you are going to marry that woman or have you changed your mind?"

"Come on! He is very young. It will be a fleeting whim."

"He is still a child, but if you leave the honey within a child's reach, he will taste it." Steponas replied.

"You are talking no sense. What about the Queen? She don't have to be attracted to Antanas."

"He is young and handsome and the Queen could accept his attentions just for pleasure, spite or to get influence over him."

"Do you hold the Queen in so low regard?" Vladimiras couldn't help a hint of irritation in his reply.

"Why not?" Steponas shrugged." She would have already gone to bed with a man she neither loved nor desired."

"Who would be that man?" Vladimiras asked.

Steponas slyly smiled, the scar crossing his face twisted giving him an unpleasant look. "You my Lord! Or do you believe in beautiful stories of the bride falling in love during the wedding night? Your brother's marriage should have taught you something."

"You look better with your mouth shut? Hasn't anybody told you that?"

The mirror every morning, since the day that friend of you , Erick Simonyi, crossed my face with this ugly scar.

Both men remained in silent for a moment."Do you know?" Finally said Steponas in a casual way with an expression as innocent as he could on his face. "Maybe, you are right and it makes no sense to worry about that. Who would care if Elsa of Arendelle give birth to your sons or to your grandsons. Anyway, they will be your descendants."

"Steponas ,I prefer when you limit yourself to hate everybody instead of giving advice."

"I already know it my Lord." Steponas replied, broadly smiling again and twisting the scar on his face in an extremely unpleasant way.

* * *

N.A: Hi,

Writing this chapter I realized that I haven't written anything about Vladimiras' companions since their initial presentation in chapter 6. I hope you still remember them. In a good deal of chapters I planned to use them, but their scenes were always discarded.

Merry Christmas, happy new year and I see you in Arendelle.


	24. Bear in Mind

"Then they aren't doing any formal meeting."Asked Anna. All the people sitting in the table turned their attention towards Kai, the seneschal.

"No." Replied Kay."In this kind of conferences no formal meetings are made. Nobody is going to publicly say its real intentions, so they gather in little groups. In fact, they used to met on a one to one basis."

"Do you know what meetings have been done?" Asked Elsa to Kay.

"Well, almost everybody has met with everybody. But we can suppose that the short meetings have been mere formalities and the longer ones indicate that they were talking about something important."

"And?" Elsa raised her eyebrows.

"The English have met with the Lithuanian this morning, they spoke for a long time almost hours. This indicates that they were reaching or trying to reach an agreement." Elsa thought in the resolute Prince Vladimiras. She was sure that he was making his move to get her hand. She doubted if it was good or bad news. "The same day, after talking with you." Kai reproachfully gazed at Elsa, saying the last words. "He met for more than three hours with the Prussian candidate. All the other meetings of the English have been short ones and we can assume that they were mere formalities."

Kai looked around as if he was waiting for any question before went on. "The french has met with a lot of people, almost all the main delegations. There's a rumor going round that he is trying to create an alliance against the English and the Empire is supposed to support him. But the longer meetings have been between the Empire and the Empire."

"What do you mean?" Elsa looked puzzled.

"The Imperial delegate and the two Dukes have spent the best part of an entire day and half of the next wrangling. We didn't understand why until this afternoon, when the Imperial delegate has presented a formal request to change Princess Anna's candidate."

"Is it normal such a change?" Asked Anna.

"Before any real negotiation has been done? Of course it isn't normal. In fact the Imperial delegate excused for that uncommon behavior. Captain Simonyi is no longer the imperial candidate for princess Anna and a Count from Verona will take his place."

"Why they do such strange movement?" Elsa asked. "Maybe there are internal discussions between both Dukes."

"That is also my opinion, my Queen ." Replied Kai. "Maybe Maester Corrado knows better the reasons of the Empire."

The Italian engineer looked uneasy with the sudden attention centered over him. "Well..."

"Captain Simonyi?" Interrupted Rolf. "Corrado, is he the man who I would have arrested a moth ago, if you hadn't interceded on his behalf and now stays in your home?"

"Does the captain stay in your home?" Elsa asked Corrado in surprise.

"Yes." Replied the engineer. "He is an old friend and he asked me for hospitality."

"Why were you going to arrest him." Asked Anna to the captain of the guard.

"If you had seem him entering in Arendelle. He looked as a brigand. When I stopped him he didn't identified himself as the son of a duke nor claimed any involvement in the conference. He just said that he was looking for a place to rest."

"And he told the truth." Corrado interrupted." He had been a scout and he is used to move in enemy territory. He never explains more than necessary."

"And did he consider Arendelle to be enemy territory?" Anna replied surprised.

"He wasn't even sure to be in Arendelle. He had crossed the mountains from the Sweden coast and his last guide betrayed him. He had to do the last part of the travel on his own."

" Do you say that he has crossed the mountains without a guide!" Exclaimed Kristoff. "That's impossible it is a maze of little valleys, infested with wolves."

"Before being promoted, he was one of the best scouts in the imperial army of the Plains." Corrado replied. " If he says that he crossed I believe him, but it was hard even for him, he was in a sad state when Rolf nearly arrest him."

"Did you know that he was coming to Arendelle?" Elsa asked.

"No. I haven't seem him since the peace treaty between the Empire and Lithuania when I left the imperial army. It was a surprise for me to meet him in the entrance of the village, quarreling with Rolf."

"And does he stay in your house with a full view of the new harbor and everything happening in it?" Elsa's voice was gentle but cold.

"Yes, but don't worry I have forbidden him to approach the new harbor for his own safety."

"I think it would have been wiser, if you had denied him hospitality with any excuse." Elsa replied."I warned you about possible conflicts between your loyalties."

"He would have suspected something strange if I had denied him hospitality." Corrado replied.

"So close is your friendship." Rolf asked with curiosity.

"For a siege of six months we shared the same house and he saved my life twice. One of them disobeying orders."

"We had assigned him a room in the castle. " Kai interrupted. "He is the son of an Imperial Duke and a candidate to princess Anna's hand. But when I offered him the room, he showed gratitude for it, but replied that he was used to his lodging in Arendelle. He didn't told me anything about being in Corrado's home I supposed he stayed in the Imperial encampment. "

"I see." Elsa thoughtfully said. "But I don't trust him. Maybe he has received instructions to approach you taking advantage of your friendship and he is spying our movements through you."

Corrado was going to reply but Anna interrupted him, trying to calm Elsa down. "Elsa, if he was a spy then he would have been more discrete. He could have been included in the imperial delegation and made contact with Corrado staying in the castle and he would have been less evident. I am not an expert in this issues but a spy is supposed to be discrete." Anna was surprised by Elsa's stark tone of voice, her sister had been tense from the beginning of the meeting and the atmosphere was a bit strained.

Corrado nodded at Anna's words And Elsa took a deep breath. "I suppose you are right." Said Elsa at last. "Are you sure that he is not aware about the new harbor activities."

"Of course I am. He is not interested in the new harbor he just want to return to his regiment as soon as possible." Corrado stated.

"Well, I share his desire. The sooner he left Arendelle the better. "Said Elsa in a more relaxed tone of voice. "I think we can put aside the imperial motivations. I want to announce that I have made a pact with the English this morning." Anna paid special attention to Elsa's words, any pact with the English could be important. "It is a commerce treaty that will improve our relations with England and, hopefully, will allow us to have a starting point to talk about England's position in our marriages. Kai have seen the details."

Kai nodded and Anna looked stupefied at Elsa. "Who cares about a commercial treaty?" Anna said to herself, but she remained silent.

"Kai do you want to say anything about the entertainment of tomorrow?" Elsa said not showing too much interest.

"Everybody is extremely enthusiastic about it. The Lithuanian Prince and the French delegate have even bet on it." The seneschal started to explain.

"Don't forget Elias, he is also in the bet." Anna interrupted.

"Elias?" Elsa said in surprise. "Why is Elias involved in the bear hunt?"

"Well, Prince Vladimiras, Christian Mullon and more people were having lunch and they were talking about bear hunting. According to them, both are skilled bear hunters and after a friendly talk they decided to make a bet on who will hunt the best catch tomorrow." Kai explained.

"But Elias was also having his lunch with his mother." Anna, who had been in the dinning room looking for Elsa when the dignitaries had been talking, added.

"Of course she was there. She is always near Mullon" Elsa thought. Her attempts to have a talk with Mullon without Elisa Gonzaga had failed and she needed to devise a plan to met him alone as soon as possible before the main powers could reach an agreement.

"And Elias joined to the talk saying that his ancestors had been outstanding hunters and he asked to join to the bet." Anna went on.

"It is stupid!" Elsa exclaimed. "He can't do something so dangerous as hunting a bear."

"His mother was so displeased as you. She tried to change his mind, but he was really stubborn." Anna replied.

"I'm sure that we can do something to avoid such a senseless situation." The Queen said turning his head to face Kai.

"I fear we can't. He is a Grandee of Spain and we can't deny a guest the right to participate in any entertainment. It will be a breach of the protocol."

Elsa and Anna looked in astonishment at the seneschal.

"Kai, Elias is mentally retarded, but it is supposed that we aren't. You can't..." Elsa started to say.

"I'm sorry my Queen." Kai interrupted Elsa. "He isn't mentally retarded, at least officially. If the mother can't control him, we have to stay away."

"What do you mean he isn't mentally retarded?" Anna exclaimed."It is obvious that poor Elias..."

"I'm not saying that Elias have full possession of his mental faculties, but he hasn't officially been officially declared disabled. If he had been officially declared, he would have been dispossessed of his title and he wouldn't be a Grandee of Spain."

Ana looked confused at Kai. " But then..."

"Elias is an only child, if he had been declared disabled, the title would have passed to other branch of the Gonzaga family. I suppose that's the reason because his mother hasn't declared him mentally retarded." Elsa said to Anna in a soft and sad tone of voice.

Anna looked at Elsa stupefied.

"You are right my Queen. If the mother doesn't allow Elias to participate in the hunt based on his disability, any relative could use it as a legal base to dispossess him of he title." Kai confirmed."The only option is that Madam Gonzaga persuade his son not to participate."

"Madam Gonzaga finally accepted that she would be at his son's side for all the hunt, so I fear she wasn't going to solve the problem." Anna sadly said.

"But.." Elsa was starting to talk when she suddenly stopped and thought for a moment. "Are you saying that Elisa Gonzaga is going to be with his son for all the hunt?"

"Yes. This is what she finally said when his son was firm in his resolution. " Anna replied.

"Rolf, Do you know all the explorers who are going to help in the hunt? "

"Of course Queen Elsa." The chief of the Guard replied.

"Could one of them guide the French to a remote spot far from the rest of the hunting-party? He should tell him that there was a lot of bears to hunt."

"I have two scouts who could guide him to the hell, filling his ears with wonderful stories about forests full of bears."

"He must go alone without Madam Gonzaga and her son."

"It will be easy. We, the hunters, prefer to go on our own when betting, so we avoid further discussions about who had hunted the catch." Rolf replied.

"Kristoff could you guide me to find the French? Tomorrow the French won't be the hunter but the prey."

"Of course I can." Kristoff replied smiling.

"Kai, have you get anything new about the French delegate."

"I'm sorry my Queen, but we only have some minor details. We haven't get anything about his contacts with the French timber companies. Anyway, I don't agree about meeting in this strange way."

"I don't want to speak any more about that!" Elsa surly replied. She could hardly disguise his disappointment. The conversation with the French would be a stab in the dark, but she had to talk with him before the conference would reach an agreement." We can go the ball then." Said Elsa with a forced smile in her face.

Everybody left the room, but Anna who came closer to Elsa.

"Elsa, you have been too harsh with Kai and Corrado. Bear in mind that they are loyal to you." Anna said warily. Elsa had been prickly as an urchin for the whole meeting.

"I know, but Kai is so stubborn with everything regarding protocol! And Corrado seems to believe that an Imperial Captain, who specially despises us, isn't a danger to what we are doing in the new harbor. I have problems enough to get more from them."

"I understand you, but..."

"Enough Anna!"

Anna hesitated, but finally she changed the subject. "Have you get something from the English this morning?" Anna wasn't sure whether it was a good time to ask it, but she needed responses.

"Only the commerce treaty. I hope I could get something shortly." Elsa curtly replied as he walked towards the door. The less Anna knew about her plans the better.

"Will I go with you tomorrow?" Anna asked

Elsa stopped and turned. "No. I need you in the hunting -party with Kai. At least, one member of Arendelle's royal family must be with them. Please, cover for me."

Anna nodded, without saying anything, but her eyes were telling enough to guilt Elsa.

"Thank you." Elsa finally said as she turned and left the room, leaving Anna alone.

"Then you could arrange a meeting within two day?" Alain asked.

Kurt smiled as he replied. "You are too bold! We are in the middle of an international conference and you want to organize a private rendezvous!"

"You were more daring when we met a year ago in Paris."

"We were alone a year ago in Paris. if we were caught it would be the end of my career. "

"Instead, they would promote me." The young cuirassier joked. "What do you say? Will you be a coward?"

Kurt looked at the smiling and handsome young French. "All right. I will go."

"Great!" Alain exclaimed. He moved away from Kurt, leaving him in the middle of the corridor where they have met, hidden from indiscreet stares. Kurt looked at the tall and charming French cuirassier while he walked along the corridor. Finally, Kurt turned and went towards the main hall. He was near it when he saw Queen Elsa leaving the Council chamber. They were alone in the corridor.

"Queen Elsa! May I have a talk with you?" The young Prussian said, although he wasn't sure about what he was going to say.

Elsa turned to face him with a broad smile on her face." Hello Kurt. I'm sorry but I have had no time to find the picture of the old watchtower. Hopefully, I will find it tomorrow."

"Don't worry. I want to talk with you about the pact with the English."

Elsa got tensed up when she heard Kurt's words."What are you talking about?"

"As partners of the English in the conference we have access to privileged information. Anyway it's just a matter of time that its contents are filtered and everybody knows it."

Elsa thought about Anna's reaction if she gets such information from another person. She wouldn't be gentle.

"Elsa, It doesn't make sense to get rid of the different candidates one by one. There are too much! You will always find another Count, Duke ... or any other minor noble willing to marry you." Kurt sighed before went on. " Elsa, the best you can do is to accept that you can't change anything. Maybe the chosen candidate won't be so bad." Kurt was about to tell her that Vladimiras had a good chance of success, but he restrained himself since, at the end, it will be useless and he had the unpleasant feeling that he was betraying his brother and uncle's confidence.

Elsa burst with anger. "I can't! I wish I could just surrender and accept what was going on, my life would be easier, but it's too much at stake. If you were in my position, it wouldn't be so easy for you to accept the situation." Elsa blurted with a resented tone of voice.

"It isn't easy, but I accept it."

Elsa's eyes widened. "You?"

"Yes. The only result of all your efforts has been the change of one candidate for another one. In diplomacy everything must be explicitly specified or your adversary will use any open option he could find."

Elsa looked puzzled. "I don't discarded Prussia, just your uncle." Elsa said almost to herself, staring into space. Her mind was working with the implications of the new situation.

Kurt gazed at her, he could tell that Elsa has been surprised by his last comment and her anger had disappeared. "Yes. Elsa, you are a bright woman your intelligence is wonderful, but you have to bear in mind that they are skilled diplomats with years of experience. You can't cope with them. All your efforts are useless."

Elsa felt Kurt's words like a stab, since they were just a softer version of her own doubts. Elsa gazed at Kurt with sad eyes. "I have got you into trouble, due to the pact you are a candidate. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry. I had been earmarked to be a candidate from the beginning of the conference. It was just a matter of time."

In that moment a French hussar talking with a Bavarian dragoon appeared at the end of the corridor.

"Thank you for your interest for showing me the picture Queen Elsa." Kurt said, quickly changing the subject.

"Hopefully, I could show you the picture tomorrow." Elsa replied.

Kurt bowed and left Elsa alone.

Elsa felt tired, she didn't need conversations like that. He had doubts enough on her own, it was no necessary to receive more. But supposing Kurt hadn't been sent by her uncle or Lord Halkett, and that he had told the truth, they had no idea at all about Elsa's real intentions. The mistake regarding Count Friedrich von Schrader had been stupid, she had been so obsessed putting an appealing bait to Lord Halkett that she hadn't paid attention to details like that.

If Lord Halkett hadn't been so convinced of her lack of skill, he could have suspect and all her plan would have failed. She should be more careful talking with Mullon. Elsa felt a shiver running down her spine, but she wasn't sure if it was caused for fear of her plan failing or being a success.


	25. Queen's Hunt

"People talk about a living snowman that appeared in Arendelle after the coronation, when Queen Elsa revealed herself as a witch. It used to walk through the streets of Arendelle, but disappeared a few months ago before the beginning of the conference. It seems that it used to speak about the Queen as his mother. So, she is also a mother of monsters " Filippo conspiratorially said, sipping his wine.

"Anyway, you are supposed to marry Princess Anna." Von Leep replied in the same tone of voice.

Both man were having their breakfast with the other members of the Imperial delegation who were going to take part in the bear hunt. They were, with the members of the other delegations, in a long wooden building which was the main hall of the hunting pavilions used by the Arendelle's Kings. The place was in a mountainside, overlooking the fiord and Arendelle. Over the nearby ridge, a narrow and winding path headed to a great valley behind the mountains which was renowned for its abundance in game.

"Yes. The Duke Adrian is a brave man, marrying such an icy witch." Filippo, count of Verona, finally replied.

"Well, you would get the best part of the deal. Princess Anna seems perfectly normal."

"Nobody knew a year ago that the Queen was a witch. Who knows what the Princess could be? This is a strange land! People talk about trolls living in the mountains and it is said that the Princess have deals with them. In fact, her supposed lover is said to be a half troll."

Eric raised her eyebrows at the comment. He had had his breakfast while talking with the lieutenants of the Imperial brigantine. When the navy officers had left the table to join their hunting group, the young hussar had leaned back on his chair as he sipped a cup of tea, overhearing the comment about Olaf between Leep and the Veronese Count, who were taking their breakfast behind him.

"Then this Kingdom will need a man like you to keep it in order." Leep encouraged the Veronese Count.

"Yes, but it won't be an easy task."

"Berganza has done you a great honor. It's a great improvement for a Count to marry a Princess."

"Truth to be told I didn't have any choice."

"Take it by the bright side! Queen Elsa will go to Vienna with the Duke, and Anna's husband will be the regent of Arendelle. That implies a great honor... and a great profit."

"Are you sure of that? There's a rumor going round that Queen Elsa has made a commercial pact with England. It seems that Queen Elsa is moving. Who knows what a witch could do?"

"Come on! Do you believe that the pact has been done on her initiative? I'm sure that it is an English maneuver. I suppose that Lord Halkett had led she to believe that she has been the instigator of the pact, but I'm sure that the pact has been tailored to meet England interests."

"Then if the English moved, would the Empire have a chance? Have we made such a long travel just to see how the English candidates marry both sisters?"

"Maybe the English will get Queen Elsa, but I'm sure that Princess Anna will be ceded to another power to compensate. And this give you, as Imperial candidate for Anna's hand, a good chance. You would just have to agree how to share Arendelle's wealth!."

"But the Queen..."

"Don't worry about the Queen!" Leep interrupted. "Anything she could try will be useless! They are condemned to marriage." Leep finished, laughing.

Erick was fed up with the afraid count and the obliging cuirasseur. He drank the cup in one swallow and headed towards the door of the hall. Before leaving the room he caught a glance of both Imperial Officers. Maybe, the Veronese Count was really afraid of marrying Anna, but it wasn't obvious. They had an animated talk and laughed as old friends sharing a private joke.

After he had fallen out of Adrian's favour, von Leep had been very friendly with the Veronese Count who was one of Berganza's trusted men. "He is quick changing sides." Erick said to himself while gazing at both men clad in Imperial Uniforms. Von Leep wore the white uniform of the cuirassers' Guard and the Count was clad in a light cavalry uniform from the Imperial Army of Italy. Both of them wore Imperial insignia over their shoulders. Erick was suddenly aware that he also wore the same insignia over his shoulders and felt the necessity of fresh air.

Erick went out and took a deep breath in the cold air of the morning. Everybody had woken up early and had reached the hunting pavilions before sunrise. Once there, Arendelle's menservant had served a hearty breakfast.

The sun was rising over the mountains, it was the best moment to start a bear hunt, when the animals were looking for a place to sleep, tired after a night wandering through the woods. Erick strolled through the little buildings that surrounded the main hall, beholding the breathtaking views over Arendelle and the fiord whose waters shone under the first beams of the morning sun. It was the first time, since he had reached Arendelle, that he didn't felt encaged.

Beholding the landscape, Erick noticed a small house, isolated from the rest of the pavilions, near the peak of the mountain. "The view from that house must be even more impressive. " He thought as he started to come back through the buildings, looking for the stables.

While coming back, he looked at the busy menservant who were preparing everything for the returning of the hunters and his trophies. The buildings seemed well constructed and maintained, but it was obvious that they hadn't been used for a long time and the men were very busy setting them up.

Vladimiras came out of the main hall as Erick walked past it. The Prince wore at his back a long sword almost two meters long, Erick couldn't help touching his right temple while a shiver went down his spine. It was the favorite weapon of the Lithuanian Prince in battle and he was deadly skilled using it. Many Imperial soldiers have suffered that, a good deal of Erick's comrades among them.

Lord Halkett was talking with the Lithuanian. Erick supposed that they would hunt together."He is working the English." Erick thought, giving the Lithuanian a wave. Vladimiras replied raising his right hand as he went on with his friendly conversation with Howart Halkett.

"He would have to hurry up, if he wanted to win the bet." Erick said to himself. On arriving, he had seen the French departing without having breakfast. Erick supposed that He planned to eat bear for breakfast. Anyway, the French would be an outstanding bear hunter if he was able to best Vladimiras.

Erick reached the makeshift stable, where the horses have been placed. Almost all the animals have been already recovered by their riders, therefore it was easy to locate his mount. It was a light and spirited mare from a 'hot blood' Italian breed. He gently patted its neck. "Hi Ice. We have made a long way from the Apennines. Eh?" Erick said to the beautiful animal remembering the icy night, from which the animal had took its name ten years ago, when he and his father had helped the mare to born. That night had snowed in the Apennines and the Norwegian mountains, with snow on their peaks, looked similar.

"A long way." He repeated as he produced and apple from his pocket and offered it to the animal. While the horse ate the apple, Erick let it loose and the mare started to walk on its own. The stroll from the castle had been its first long ride since they had arrived at Arendelle and he wanted to see how the mare walked in order to check whether the animal was in good condition... Erick took the saddle from the ground, by the place the horse had been, carried it over his right shoulder and followed the animal.

While Erick walked by his horse, he noticed that the different hunting groups were being organized and an Arendelle's hunter guided each one to the valley behind the ridge. Princess Anna was near the long hall, supervising the depart of the last groups. One of them was the Spanish group with Madam Gonzaga clung to her son.

They were a sad spectacle to see. Elias was not used to ride and his mother wasn't a great help. She was giving him contradictory instructions all the time, consequently the poor Spaniard was utterly confused. Erick would have been worried about the young Spaniard, but at his side rode a tall man clad in green who was obviously a skilled rider and was watching Elias.

Erick thought that it was strange to see Madam Gonzaga without Mullon. She was always near the French diplomat. Some people had discreetly joked about the difficulties to negotiate with Mullon, who supported against all odds the Spanish candidature to Elsa's hand, and Elisa Gonzaga always at his side.

"Queen Elsa would have a more difficult task than with the Englishman if she wanted to play the diplomat." Erick said to himself. Thinking about Elsa, Erick realized that Anna was alone, Kristoff and the Queen haven't come to the pavilions. He remembered seeing both together in the castle before departing to the pavilions.

"As the French is alone, maybe the Snow Queen is playing the diplomat with him." Erick said to himself as he looked to Anna who was leaving with the last main groups."Taking into account Anna's efforts to replace her, I hope that the Queen will care for her younger sister while she is playing the diplomat. "

While Erick was following his horse, Corrado appeared from behind one of the buildings. "Erick, are you talking alone? You are going to miss the last group."

Erick turned to face Corrado. The Italian engineer was responsible of the pavilions and he was checking that no hunter was being left behind.

"Hello Corrado. I'm not interested in hunting. I just want to test the condition of my horse. Has the Queen already talked with the French?"

"Who had told you that?" Corrado asked in surprise.

"During the breakfast I have heard that some kind of pact was in progress between England and Arendelle. I supposed that the Queen would also try with the French, and today is a good moment with Mullon alone with a pretty obliging hunter who starts to work before the others and Queen Elsa disappeared with an expert guide like Kristoff. " Erick answered amused.

"I see that you are so quick as you were in the plains." Corrado warily replied.

"The only reason my colonel hasn't court martialed me is because I'm good reading other people intentions. Chess, a battle or a Queen playing the diplomat there's no difference."

"I hope you will stay calm and don't explain it to anybody."

"Don't worry. I don't care for the Imperial success in this nasty issue. I only want a good ride." Erick replied putting the saddle on the back of the horse. Suddenly Erick turned towards Corrado. "I want..." The young hussar hesitated for a moment, but then he saw Anna helping Elias to cross the ridge and finally took a decision. "Since I haven't received any formal communication about it I'm going to suppose that I can explain this to you. Although a court-martial could have a pretty different opinion. You must tell something to your Queen about Mullon and his family before she makes any pact with him."

Erick explained to Corrado all he knew about Mullon regarding his contacts with Noel D'Arbanville and the part played by Elisa d'Arbanville also know as Madam Gonzaga.

"Are you certain about that?" Corrado asked after Erick explanations.

" I'm sure that Mullon is a relative of a great noble French family and his father was related with the revolutionaries. I worm it out of Ladislas. And I trust the source of the rest."

Corrado grimaced. "The Queen must be informed, but all the riders have gone!" He was right. The last able riders had left with Anna, but one who was waiting for the last group of hunters composed by people left behind. The remaining menservant weren't good riders; besides, the horses left in the pavilions were reliable but slow animals which were only good to pull a cart.

Corrado hesitated while looking at the hunter who was gathering the last group, but Kai was with him and he wouldn't t allow Corrado to left a group of guests without guide. He would have to quarrel and hadn't got time. Corrado looked again around and saw Erick who was saddling his horse. "You!" The Italian shouted.

"What?" Erick replied in surprise as he stopped fastening the girth and looked at his friend.

"You will go to explain it to the Queen!"

"Are you joking?"

"Why not? You were an outstanding scout."

"I'm an Imperial captain, I'm not supposed to give sensitive information to other nations. Specially if that nation is dealing with the Empire."

"Then why have you told me that?"

"I make myself the same question!"

"Erick you said that the Empire has been entangled in this nasty issue only to defend your brother interests. Arendelle shouldn't be involved in Imperial politics."

"But it is now involved and Queen Elsa and Princess Anna are also involved whether you want it or not."

"Please Erick, I know your dislike for Queen Elsa, but you like Princess Anna and her elder sister is also fighting for her."

"Yes. She is fighting to the bitter end according to her own words, but these are only beautiful words."

"I beg you." Corrado said putting his arm over Erick's shoulder.

Erick thought for a long while before shaking his head. "Anyway, anything she could try will be useless! They are condemned!" Erick stated. In that moment both men heard a loud laugh. Von Leep and the Veronese Count had left the main hall and were guided by a manservant to join the last group of hunters.

Erick stared at the two Imperials, his mouth twisted into a grimace of disgust. At his side, Corrado was talking but the young hussar was not listening to him. As Erick gazed at them, both Imperials joined to the hunting group laughing and joking until they disappeared following the path to the valley behind the ridge. Finally Erick took a deep breath, finished off saddling his horse and mounted.

Corrado give up and, with his eyes on the ground, started to think who could carry the message to Queen Elsa.

"Where is your Queen?" Erick asked from the saddle.

Corrado raised his eyes in surprise. "will you go? "

"Yes! As you always say, I'm not very reasonable and I don't see any valid reason to change. Where is your Queen?"

Corrado hesitated. "I don't know where she is. She departed with Kristoff in the morning."

"Great!" Erick exclaimed. "Then I must locate the French and try to find the Queen before she has a talk with him. Do you know where is the French at least?"

Corrado pointed at a distant hill."There is a forest behind that hill. The hunter guided Mullon there. Don't tell the Queen that I send you. He doesn't like that I have dealings with any imperial."

"Wonderful!" Erick said, curving his mouth into a wry smile.

"Be on guard!" Corrado added, holding Erick's stirrup."A complete squad of Arendelle's light dragoons guard the place. They won't allow you to go there."

Erick smiled as he swerved his horse. "I'm sure that they will try!" He exclaimed as he rode away at a fast canter towards the path to the valley.


	26. A Pointed Reply

Kristoff and Elsa were listening to a scout, clad in Arendelle's light dragoons uniform,who was explaining how they could find Mullon."When you left the forest, you will see a low hill. You have to pass it and follow the current of the brook that you will find behind. It goes through the forest and the guide will always keep the French near that stream. The terrain is easy to cross, although it is rougher that the path you have left behind."

Elsa couldn't help taking a deep breath hearing that.

"When did you see them? Kristoff inquired.

"I see them almost half an hour ago."

"All right. Thank you." Kristoff replied as he inspected the hill.

"Thank you. You can return with your picket." Elsa added.

The soldier, who was on the saddle and was obviously nervous of the Queen, saluted as he swerved his horse and left, disappearing among the trees.

Elsa and Kristoff gazed at each other. Both were mounted, Elsa on her quiet mare and Kristoff on Sven. Elsa wasn't a specially good rider. In fact, she always felt nervous on horseback. She could ride along a path or on even terrain, but they had come through places that Elsa would never have thought that could be crossed and, according to the soldier, the path to come was even harder.

"Are you ready?" Kristoff asked with kind voice.

"Of course not! I almost fall from the horse three times!" Elsa ironically replied. "But we must go on." She grabbed her reins and slowly walked her horse towards the hill.

"Come on!" Kristoff exclaimed. " You are doing it well." The mountain main encouraged the Queen as he passed her. He wanted to guide her through the easiest points, since he hadn't a great confidence in Elsa's riding skills.

Elsa smiled. "You are such a bad liar! If you were with Anna, you would already have found the French."

She was right. Anna was a far better rider than Elsa and she was able to ride quite fast through rough terrain, but Kristoff decided that the harsh truth wouldn't help the Queen to be a better rider. "Anna is a better raider and you are a better diplomat. I doubt that neither Anna nor me would be able to handle the negotiation with the French." Kristoff replied as he slowed Sven's pace.

"I hope that I will be better as diplomat than as rider or France would declare war on Arendelle." Elsa joked.

But Kristoff didn't laughed at Elsa's joke. "Elsa, do you..." Kristoff hesitated. "Do you believe that you have a chance? I mean..."

"I know what do you mean." Elsa said, reining in her horse and gazing at Kristoff who also stopped and turned to gaze Elsa. "And what could I tell you?" She thought. Kristoff wasn't in an easy situation and Elsa wanted to comfort him. For a moment she considered explaining her plan to him, so she would give him hope and he could prepare himself for the difficult times to come. But he couldn't refrain from explaining it to Anna. "I'm sure that we will find a solution." Finally, Elsa Replied. It was a meager reply but Elsa wasn't able to find another one. She didn't want to lie to Kristoff.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you." Kristoff replied as he saw that the question had upset Elsa.

"You are going to leave for the valley of the living rock tomorrow morning and I understand that you are concerned about the situation that you will leave behind. Don't worry. We will take care of each other until your return, although I'm sure that Anna would prefer you." Elsa joked trying to cheer him up.

"In fact, I'm worried by just the situation. I doubt that my presence in Arendelle would make a difference."

"What do you mean?"

"Truth to be told, I'm useless in this situations."

"Don't tell that! We need you at our side!"

"Thank you. But you know that I could have been out of Arendelle for the entire conference and nobody would have noticed my absence"

"Anna would have noticed! I can assure you that. And you are necessary to help Corrado."

"You have a lot of scouts who are fit for the task!. And you know that Anna have been busy searching tasks for me. Sometimes I thought that I'm only of nuisance value." Finally he said with a shrug.

"Yes, in fact If I was alone, I would go faster. I accepted your company only to please my sister." Elsa replied giggling.

Kristoff also smiled." You know what I mean! You and Anna have been trained in this all your live, but I'm just an ice harvester. Life in Arendelle was difficult enough, but since the beginning of the conference, I couldn't help to compare myself with those newcomers."

"And?"

"They are skilled in subjects that I wasn't even aware of its existence."

Elsa looked at Kristoff . "I understand you. It isn't easy to deal with Europe's best diplomats. Sometimes, I also feel like a child playing with her parent's tools."

"Do you?" Kristoff looked at Elsa in surprise.

Elsa realized that if he wanted to give Kristoff confidence regarding the final result of the conference, her last words wouldn't have been adequate at all."I didn't mean..."

"Don't worry Elsa." Kristoff interrupted. "Thanks for your efforts, but I'm not the equal of those men. Each of them is better qualified than me to be the husband of an Arendelle's Princess.

"I'm sure that Hans of the southern isles is qualified to be a Prince. Do you believe that Anna would prefer him? Do you really believe that he would be the best husband for her?" Elsa quickly replied with a soft smile on her face.

Kristoff gazed at Elsa for a long while. "We must go." He finally said.

"You are right." Elsa replied.

The scout stopped his horse and quickly dismounted, kneeled and examined the ground. After a while, he waved to five riders who approached, all of them wore the Arendelle's light dragoons uniform.

The scout, also clad in the dragoons' uniform, pointed at the tracks left by the hooves of a horse on the ground and raised a finger. The leader of the group, who was a corporal, nodded and started to follow the trail followed by his men. They had remained silent all the time. The first scout overtook the rest of the group to form a little vanguard.

Erick was watching the men, laying flat on the ground under a nearby bush. Arendelle's soldiers had been a surprise for Erick. They were good. Although they made errors due to their lack of experience, his training was excellent and Erick was even having to make an effort to cross their lines.

He had left the tracks with his horse, making a long circle to return to the same point. Now his mare was hidden one hundred meters behind and he had made noise to attract the scout attention towards the trail.

Arendelle watching pickets were well placed and it had been impossible for Erick to cross through them, so he had to improvise that trick to move one of them from its position. He had a few minutes before the soldiers discovered that the trail was a trick, but he would have time enough to go through the gap they have left.

Erick took the reins of his horse and started to walk with it behind. Maybe not all the picket was following his false track, so he preferred to go dismounted and try to hide behind the bushes as he moved. He passed the original position of the picket and reached a great meadow in the side of a hill. He started to move along the border of the forest to avoid being seen by any picket at the other side of the great open field.

Erick had walked just one hundred meters when he heard a noise coming from a thick group of bushes. Instinctively the young hussar put his hand over the hilt of his saber, but he refrained from drawing it. "Take it easy." He thought. "You aren't in the Plains and they are neither Tartars nor Lithuanians.

From the bushes appeared a bear cub, which was few months old. Erick sighed and looked at the little animal which was coming closer.

"You don't look like a dragoon boy. If Vladimiras caught you, you hardly would provide fur enough for a pair of gloves." Erick said, but suddenly he heard a roar from the bushes. "The mother!" He exclaimed.

The group of bushes were the place chosen by the mother and its cub to spent the day sleeping. But in that moment, the mother, a great brown bear, raised among the bushes really angry. It had awaken when it had noticed that his cub had gone and all its maternal instincts were aimed against the human by its cub.

Erick was trapped between the border of the forest and the bear. The animal will move far quick than his horse among the trees, so Erick jumped on his horse and galloped out of the protection of the trees to get open ground. The bear remained under the cover of the forest roaring its challenge.

Erick ran away into a full gallop through the meadow towards the top of the hill. "I hope that the other picket is looking in another direction. Here, even a blind could see me." Erick thought.

"Hey you! What are you doing here?" The voice came from the other side of the field.

"No luck." Erick thought as he gave a quick glance and saw a light dragoon in the border of the forest at the other side of the meadow who was quickly moving towards the hussar. The bear behind him was still roaring, as if it wanted to make clear that he couldn't come back.

"The light dragoon's comrades will appear in a few minutes and I can't search the Queen with them behind me." Erick said to himself. Suddenly, he had an idea. "Help! Help!" He shouted. "The bear has hurt the guide and is attacking my friends! Help them! I will help you when I calm down my horse." While shouting, Erick feigned to rein in as if he was stopping the horse.

"I hope he will care for the Quen's guests and for his supposedly wounded comrade." Erick thought as he reached and passed the crest of the hill without looking behind to check the effects of his trick.

"There is the French. I have seen the guide in the top of the hill. I suppose that they will be behind." Kristoff said, pointing a hill with the top covered with oaks. They were at the limit of the forest in the border of a great meadow.

"Wait for me. If I find him, I will be back in an hour." Elsa said, walking her horse towards the hill.

"Good luck. I will return to the stream to water Sven." Kristoff said waving his hand towards the young Queen.

Kristoff and Sven returned to the stream. Sven gazed at Kristoff and grunted.

"I know. I know. She had problems enough to put more pressure on her, but I can't help asking her. I'm feed up with this situation of uncertainty and Elsa hasn't clarified it. "

Sven looked at him reproachfully.

"Yes. I know that Elsa is not the problem. I'm the problem. I should have talk with Anna, but it isn't an easy thing to say. I have been the last days trying to take a decision, but I still doubt."

The reindeer mooed.

"What did I mean with better than me? All those newcomers have been trained to be in a royal court. When we were in the wilderness, due to Anna's character, everything was easy, but in Arendelle, everything seems devised to clearly show that I'm a mountain man and she is a Princess."

Sven brayed in anger.

"It's not so easy! I want to do the best for Anna, but I'm not sure about what's the best."

The reindeer shook its head and grunted.

"I have no time. Tomorrow I will leave Arendelle to return with my family and I have to clarify the situation with Anna before I leave."

The reindeer grunted again.

"No. I can't wait to talk with my family. Anna must have a clear idea of our situation before the delegates reach an agreement. We must put and end to this uncertainty and everything depends on me, but I always doubt if I'm taking the correct decision." Kristoff took a stone and throw it in the middle of the bushes at the other side of the stream.

Elsa slowly rode across the meadow. She was again weighing how to handle the talk with Mullon. She supposed that Mullon was somewhat involved in the timber business, but she didn't know the details and it was a handicap. Mullon would even try to avoid talking with her.

Suddenly a bear roared in the distance. Elsa supposed that a hunting group had found what they were looking for and she couldn't help thinking about Elias. She had been so busy preparing the trap for Mullon that she had entirely forgotten him.

"I should have assigned some guards to protect him." Elsa thought, but it was too late the hunting parties had scattered across the valley. "I'm not better than his mother who uses him as a pawn in her schemes. When I have my own scheme I forget him."

At that very moment, she noticed that a rider had appeared in the top of a nearby hill, in the same direction of the roar and was quickly approaching. At first Elsa thought that he was one of her explorers until she noticed the black uniform and the silver emblem on the shako.

"Why is that arrogant lout here?" Elsa asked to herself. Erick Simonyi was the symbol of the madness that the conference had brought to Arendelle. He seemed to enjoy it and his tactless sincerity was just the consequence of his lack of care for people's feelings. "As if I didn't have problems enough with Mullon an Elias!"

Elsa frown, fearing an imperial maneuver to avoid her encounter with Mullon, but finally, she gave a snort of disgust. "I doubt that the empire is worried by anything I can do. He is just looking for a bear on his own."

Erick rode purposefully towards Elsa."He is coming here. Maybe he thinks I am a bear." Elsa watched the quick approach of Erick with suspicion.

Erick was fed up, but he was finally approaching to the young Queen who stared at him with cold eyes and an expression of annoyance. "Arrogant and cold, he doesn't need magic powers to be the Snow Queen." Erick thought, complaining bitterly about Corrado's idea of being the Queen's courier .

"Queen Elsa." Said Erick when he was near her.

"Captain Simonyi, you are far away from the hunting party." Elsa's voice was polite but cold.

"I think that you are in the same situation. Or you are in a different hunting party. A hunting party which is chasing Frenchmen maybe."

"What I am doing here isn't your business. " Replied Elsa stiffening.

Erick patted his horse neck and sustained the hard gaze of the Queen. "The Snow Queen, cold as ice." Erick thought before talking. "Maybe you already have obtained the information but you may be interested in knowing that Christian Mullon is the nephew of Noel D'Arbanville. "

"Are you talking about the French ship builder?" Elsa asked.

"Yes. " Erick replied before explaining the relations between Mullon, Noel D'Arbanville y Madam Gonzaga to the young Queen.

Elsa listened in silence Erick's explanations, although she could hardly believe what she was hearing. If Lord Howart Halkett had appeared to warn her, she wouldn't have been so surprised. "What's the hidden trap? Why are they giving me this information? The Empire is allied with France. Maybe they are trying to deceive me to help the French or this captain is a puppet of an Imperial faction that don't want the alliance with the French."

Elsa's mind buzzed with the information she was hearing and the scarce information she already had, trying to find any incoherence that could be a hint to take a decision about the reliability of Erick's explanation.

Erick finished his explanation. He could see that the Queen didn't believe him. "The risk I have taken has been useless. She is not going to believe me. " He said to himself, feeling a growing anger.

"Thank you Captain Simonyi." Elsa politely said. She had decided that trusting Erick's information was too risky. She was already thinking again about Elias and if there was a way to send some of her explorers to take care of him.

"Queen Elsa. If I could do anything for you."Erick formally replied as he saluted and started to turn his horse.

"Could you return to the hunting party and take care that Elias Gonzaga doesn't get hurt?" Elsa replied, forgetting for a second who was in front of her. She instantly realized her error and her eyes widened looking at the Captain.

Erick thought that the Queen was using Elias to get rid of him and couldn't help replying with heavy sarcasm. "Are you sure that you want to protect Elias Gonzaga. Have you take into account that you would get rid of an unpleasant candidate if he found a bear."

Elsa looked in astonishment at the young captain before exploding. "What kind of soldier you are! " He shouted." Are those the words of an Imperial soldier? You are supposed to protect people. " All the accumulated tension due to the conference finally find an outlet. Elsa was not shouting at the hussar but to the whole pack of newcomers that were meddling in Arendelle's life, in her own life. She felt a strong impulse to hit the hussar. " If you have come here just to joke about or threaten defenseless and innocent people like Elias, you can go back the way you came."

Elsa said the last words while she waved his hand in a gesture of refusal towards Erick. A flash of blue light glimmered in Elsa's hand, an icy spike quickly formed in front of the Queen's horse directly aimed to the young captain's chest.

Erick deftly dodged, avoiding that the icy spike ran through his heart, but the icy blade scratched his left side. Erick felt the cold blade sliding through his clothes, cutting his skin, and the estrange sensation of the pain instantaneously followed by the numbness caused by the cold of the ice touching his flesh.

Erick's horse reared, but the hussar controlled his mount as he reached for his saber. "Mother of monsters" He thought, starting to draw his sword.

The young Queen was so frightened that she almost fell from her horse. She was shocked and numb, staring the icy spike. A year of efforts controlling her powers had gone down the drain and she couldn't look away from the stain of blood at the point of the icy spike which she has just created. She could only heard in her mind the Duke of Weselton's word when she showed accidentally her powers a year ago during the coronation ball. "Monster!"

Drops of blood slided along the spike leaving thin red lines which contrasted with the blue ice. Elsa knew that it was the end of her efforts trying to avoid foreign interference in Arendelle. The English and the other powers would take it as a probe that she was a danger and use it as justification for anything they wanted to do upon Arendelle. "Monster!" She muttered, his eyes wide open and an expression of fear on her face. She couldn't help gazing the long red lines over the spike.

Erick watched the Queen from his saddle, his hand on the hilt of the sword. His instinctive reaction had been to hit the Queen in the face with his saber, his favorite attack, and flee. But Elsa's passivity stopped him.

He realized that the Queen was not watching at him, she was looking at the icy spear with fear in her eyes. Erick was confused until he realized that she was afraid of what she had done. "She has fear of her own powers! Why had he used them then?" He asked to himself and then he remembered Elsa's last words and her fury due to his unpleasant joke regarding Elias.

"You really care for him!" Erick exclaimed in a surprised tone of voice.

Elsa slowly raised her eyes from the spike and looked at Erick's face, the hussar was staring at her in utter amazement. Elsa hadn't understood what he had said, but she could suppose what he was thinking: "Monster!".

"What...?" The young Queen only could said with trembling voice,

"Elias, I mean you really care for him!" Erick answered, letting go of the hilt of his saber.

Elsa was confused. The hussar reacted as if being about to be impaled by an icy spike was the most normal thing in the world and, instead, worrying about Elias was something exceptional.

"I care, but it isn't a valid excuse for..."

"Don't worry." The hussar said as he examined the ice blade.

"But I nearly kill you."

"You aren't the first who try. And I'm sure that others will try it in the future." Erick replied as he moved his hand over the ice spike. The icy blade made a superficial cut in his hand. "It's sharp as a razor." He said in astonishment.

"I'm sorry" Elsa said looking at the wound in Erick's side. The stain of blood was slowly growing.

"No. I have to beg your pardon." Erick gazed at Elsa with friendly eyes." I have seen Imperial soldiers doing far worse things that the one we were talking about, but it is true that this doesn't make it correct. I supposed that you were just using Elias to get rid of me. "

"Please, would you explain your Imperial commanders that it was an accident."

"Explain! If they knew that I'm here, I will be court martialed for treason. I have never been here and I got that scratch falling from the saddle.

"Haven't they sent you?" Elsa asked in incredulity.

"Of course not!"

They gazed at each other for a long while without speaking. Erick hesitated, but finally, he broke the silent. "Queen Elsa why don't you go to fetch your Frenchmen? Don't worry about Elias. I will take care of him. He will be so protected as if he was in his mother's arms, although perhaps he would be better with the bear, if we took into account Madam Gonzaga's character."

Elsa couldn't help smiling at the joke. She was looking with curiosity at the young hussar. "Would you do it?"

"Of course! One last detail that could be useful. Mullon is a bit..." Erick hesitated as he searched the word. "overfond of women. Maybe you could take advantage of it." Erick looked at Elsa's dress. " But I can see that you have taken that into account. " Erick concluded, swerving his horse and starting to ride down the hill.

In that very moment Elsa become fully aware of the low neckline of the dress she wore. She had made it in French style to please Mullon, although she hadn't taken into account that detail. She couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed and hoped not to flush, although Erick was already far away.

Elsa beheld the hussar going away while she tried to decide what to do. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't even noticed Kristoff and Sven coming closer. They had heard her shout when she had created the icy spike and had immediately come.

"Are you all right?" Kristoff asked.

"Yes." Elsa replied, lost in her thoughts and gazing how Erick disappeared behind a hill.

Kristoff stared in astonishment at the icy spike and the blood at its point. "Had he attacked you?"

"No." Elsa replied in surprise. "In fact, I attacked him."

"I'm sure he give you good reasons." The expression on Kristoff face showed that if he caught Captain Simonyi, it wouldn't be a pleasant experience for the hussar.

"He was very kind after I tried to kill him."

"What?"

Elsa give up explaining what had happened to Kristoff."It's a long history Kristoff. I will explain it to you later." She replied.

She was strangely calm, as if she had passed a point of no return. Captain Simonyi could spoil her plan just explaining what had happened and she couldn't do anything to avoid it. So she decided that the only viable option was to trust him and suppose that he had come in good faith. Anyway, If it was not true, all her efforts would fail.

Elsa gazed at the hill behind which Simonyi had disappeared."I hope that you are well informed and will really take care of Elias. " She inadvertently said in loud voice.

"What do you say?" Kristoff asked looking at Elsa with worried expression.

Elsa laughed. "I have to trust a man who hates his own kind an starts to be kind when I try to kill him. It doesn't seem very reasonable."

Kristoff shook his head."Do you want that I try to catch him?"

"No. Now, it's time to catch Mullon." Elsa replied, looking towards the hill whose top was covered with oaks and curving upward the right corner of her mouth in a half smile.


	27. An Unexpected Frigate

"Hello messier Mullon." Elsa said when she appeared before Mullon and his companions. She had left her mare behind and had managed to come closer through the oaks unseen. Elsa's sudden appearance took Mullon by surprise, but he was a man of quick reactions.

"Queen Elsa." The diplomat replied bowing. "What an unexpected and pleasant surprise!" Mullon added as he glared at his guide who turn his attention to an invisible track in the ground.

"Yes. It is a fortunate coincidence that we met as I have to talk with you." Elsa had decided that it would be useless to hide her intentions. Mullon was an intelligent and experienced diplomat who wouldn't be deceived by anything she could say. The glare he had shot at the guide was a good prove of that.

"My dear Queen, I would be delighted to talk with you, but I'm in a hunting contest with Prince Vladimiras and, as we are the highest representatives of our countries, my defeat would symbolize the defeat of France. Anyway, I will be pleased to talk with you this evening and we could even toast my victory." Mullon wanted to avoid a private conversation with Elsa. When he talked with the Queen, he couldn't help, unlike Lord Halkett, being ashamed and Elisa would be a convenient shield.

"A toast that will be shared with Elisa Gonzaga." Elsa thought. "It won't take too long and I will be most grateful. I have been told that you are a gentleman. Am I wrong?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not alone. It won't be polite to leave my friends. Believe me, I would do it, but it will be useless anyway. I haven't been involved in the activities of the conference, so I couldn't help you. As I told you I'm here just as an observer to guarantee that Arendelle will be fairly treated."

"And I could never thank you enough for that." Elsa replied with a broad smile on her face. "But I don't want to talk about the conference. I'm not worried about the conference results. I know that France will protect us."

Mullon kept a fixed smile on his face, he had not expected to receive a reply to his hypocrisy in his own terms from Elsa. "What would you like to talk about?"

"About timber, timber enough to build a good deal of frigates and ships of the line."

"Queen Elsa. If you want to make deals with France, we could talk this evening about it. I will be most interested."

"I don't want to make deals with France. I want to make deals with uncles and talk about cousins." Elsa said gazing at Mullon who stared at the young Queen in surprise. "Hopefully, Erick haven't lied to me, otherwise the negotiation will end before starting." Elsa said to herself before went on. "Some issues are better handled privately. Don't you agree?" Elsa asked raising her eyebrows.

Mullon turned towards his companions."I have to talk with the Queen. Please, chase the bear without me."

The Frenchmen nodded and, guided by the scout, left them alone.

"Well Queen Elsa. What were you talking about?" Mullon inquired.

"I want a frigate for Arendelle."

"What?" The French asked in surprise.

"A frigate. Arendelle doesn't have a navy and I want one."

"Queen Elsa, are you joking?"

"No. We have the timber that you want and you can build the ship that we want. What's the problem?"

"Do you think that the English will accept that?" Mullon asked.

"Do you think that the English will fear a single frigate?" Elsa answered.

"Why do you want a frigate?" Mullon tried to imagine the consequences of a frigate flying the crocus' flag in the North sea. The English wouldn't be pleased, but it was true that a single frigate wasn't a danger.

"As I have already told you, Arendelle doesn't have a navy and I want to start its construction. And we are willing to pay for it. Arendelle will sell to France half the production of Arendelle for the next ten years. How many frigates and ships of the line you could build with that? "

"Will you guarantee such amount of timber for the next ten years?" Mullon asked, astonished by the great amount of timber included in the deal.

"Of course, but I will need that you give the matter your personal attention as France's representative." Elsa said.

"I don't understand you."

"I want that Arendelle can maintain the frigate, so I need people skilled in maintaining ships, people from Arendelle will be sent to your shipyards to be trained. And I want them to be trained in the best shipyards of France and that means to deal with your uncle Noel D'Arbanville."

"And do you expect that Noel D'Arbanville would accept that?"

"Well, all the timber we are talking about will directly be sold to D'Arvanville. I suppose that it will compensate him for any disadvantage he could suffer."

"For that amount of timber he would invite the devil to his own home." Mullon thought. Half of Arendelle's timber could make a significant influence in the reconstruction of the French navy. And if that supply of timber was under his control, D'Arbanville would get most of the contracts to build the new war fleet.

"If you want to make a private contract between Arendelle and D'Arbanville, why do you need me as France's representative?"

"Because I want to make the pact with France as a formal treaty between both countries."

"Why?"

"It is an important deal for Arendelle and I want France's commitment. If France was involved, I would be sure that the treaty clauses will be respected."

"My Dear Queen, France will ensure that all the points of the treaty are strictly respected." Mullon was delighted. With Elsa's proposal, the result of the conference was an acceptable triumph for France. Taking into account that England had the upper hand in the conference, If Mullon obtained such amount of timber, it would mean a new success in his career. And, as a welcomed collateral effect, it moved the control of the timber flow from Elisa d'Arbanville to him.

The English could oppose to the delivery of the frigate, but it could be delivered in a French harbor of the channel. And it would languish until Queen Elsa could find a way to collect it. In case it was a real problem for the English, they could be secretly warned of its departure and the Royal navy could easily sink it on its way to Arendelle. In that case, Queen Elsa's trained people would wait the frigate for a long time.

"I have a last condition." Elsa said.

"There's always a last condition. What's yours?" Mullon warily asked.

"Elias Gonzaga. I want him out of Arendelle."

Mullon gazed Elsa for a moment."I understand your annoyance at Elias. Believe me, his candidature was imposed on me against my will. But it is impossible to retire his claim. He isn't the official French candidate, so we can't interfere in Spain infernal affairs."

Mullon didn't want to do anything against Elisa. Noel D'Arbanville could easily get cross with anybody who dare to do anything against a member of the D'Arbanville family, even if that member was Elisa. And the Duke's anger was an undesired annoyance. So he try to propose a compromise solution."But it will be easy to ensure that his candidature will be unsuccessful. I could assure you that he won't be your husband."

"I trust you. But you have to understand a woman's feelings. I can't stand his mere presence in my Kingdom as a candidate to my hand. It's a continuous humiliation for me as Queen and as woman. Do you believe that I'm the kind of woman who would accept such a situation?" Elsa asked.

Mullon gazed at the young Queen. It was always a pleasure to behold Elsa's amazing beauty and her slender figure was heightened by her tight dress. The diplomat couldn't help to be fully aware of the low necklace of her dress and the knee-high slit of her skirt. Mullon said to himself that he was really interested in knowing what kind of woman was Elsa of Arendelle and he decided to change his approach to her. "My dear Elsa, I understand that you deserve somebody better, but you have to be patient." He said with soft voice.

Elsa didn't notice the change in Mullon's demeanor. She was hesitating about putting more pressure on Mullon. Although she had got what she needed, her instinct said that she could get more and, much to her surprise, she wanted to force Mullon to give up.

"Maybe I have to deal directly with Noel D'Arbanville. He is madam Gonzaga's father and he could be the appropriate person to take such a decision. I could talk with his representative in the French delegation." Elsa said trying to conceal that the last phrase was a bluff.

Elsa didn't know whether any member of the French delegation was in Arendelle on D'Arbanville's behalf, but Elsa supposed that the Duke would have sent somebody to control Mullon and Elisa. Noel D'Arbanville Dukedom was centered in Toulon and she had recognized the thick accent of the South of France in some members of the French delegation. It was risky, but if Erick was right and the three people hated each other, it would be worth trying.

Mullon raised his eyebrows in surprise. Was the Queen threatening to exclude him from the deal and its profits? Truth to be told Noel D'Arbanville despised both of them and it was quite possible that he would get rid of Elisa and him, if he had a chance. And that wouldn't be a nuisance, it would be an utter disaster. "I'm sorry Elisa." Mullon said to himself." Elsa, I don't want to be against you in that, we must..." Mullon started to say as he took Elsa's hand in his.

He just wanted to check Elsa's reaction. Why not? He didn't need to appease Elisa's resentment anymore and Elsa was worth the risk. But when he touched Elsa's skin, he was so surprised at its low temperature that he quickly retired his hand and stopped talking.

Elsa was also surprised by the diplomat's unexpected familiarity and hardly could maintain her composure, although she had never been so glad about that collateral effect of her powers. She had never been trained to handle such issues and the fact that she had shut herself in her own room for half her life didn't help, but she managed to gaze at Mullon with feigned indifference. "Then do you accept my last condition?"

The diplomat nervously nodded. "Yes." Mullon could only reply, still surprised.

"They must left Arendelle in two days." Elsa stated.

"That's impossible! We have only a ship and the French delegation couldn't be without a ship. We have to..."

"Arendelle will provide a ship. It won't be a warship, but it will be a good commercial vessel. " Elsa interrupted.

"But..." Mullon started to say.

"Enough!" Elsa interrupted. "I want madam Gonzaga and her son out of Arendelle in two days."

Mullon was trapped. Once he had accepted to exclude Elisa, Elsa knew that he was willing to give up. Elisa won't be satisfied leaving Arendelle in this way.

The rest of the discussion was centered in the prize to pay for the timber. And how much they would discount from the prize on account of the frigate."I only want a frigate, not a complete fleet of ships of the line with its corresponding corvettes and an added squad of frigates as vanguard." Replied Elsa to an exaggerated amount proposed by the French. At the end, they agreed a prize which was greater than the prize accorded with the English.

When Mullon left Elsa to join his companions, she could relax at last. Another step of her plan was completed and it had been easier than expected. Elsa supposed that France badly needed the timber and that had weakened Mullon's position. The information passed by the hussar had been also very useful.

The only pending point was to officially sign the treaties with both countries and she could make her last movement. A shiver of fear passed through Elsa as she thought in the implications of that last movement. "Keeping Anna in the dark about this will be the hardest. " She said to herself.

But, Elsa had another reason for joy. At least her plan would produce something positive, Elias would return to his home and left behind all this absurdity. She had played the part of offended woman and Mullon had swallowed the bait.

Before the meeting with Mullon, Elsa had decided that would be easier to influence him simulating scorn for Elias than appealing to Mullon to care for the young Spaniard. She supposed that scorn was something that Mullon could understand.

Now, she only had to decide what Arendelle could do with a frigate. She had only asked Mullon for it in order to distract him from her real intentions.

* * *

It had been easy to found Elias' hunting group. They haven't moved too far and Elisa Gonzaga's shouts could be heard from a long distance. Their horses were by a little brook. When Erick found them, he saw two men sat under a tree by the stream. One was clad in the red uniform of the British infantry, the other was the skilled rider who had taken care of Elias when they departed from the pavilions.

"Hello. I'm Collin Halkett, colonel of the Coldstream Guards." The man clad in red said in French raising his hand.

The other, clad in the dark green uniform of the Spanish lancers, just raised as he gazed at the newcomer.

"Hello, I'm Erick Simonyi, Captain of the 13th hussar regiment" Erick replied while he got down.

"Please, sit with us and join us for lunch. Queen Elsa's people had been really generous providing our baskets for the meal.

"Don't you participate in the hunt?" Erick asked.

"That woman makes so much noise that if they found a bear, it would be an old and deaf one. Even Pedro, our quiet friend, has left his close watch on the young Elias to take a drink with me." Collin Halkett merrily replied.

"The guide is doing circles around us. So they don't bother the other hunters and we can rest here." Pedro added sitting again.

Erick could hear the noises of the hunting party and decided that they were right. All the animals around would be fleeing as quick as they could. So he sat with them. Collin Halkett was a merry companion and explained funny or interesting histories of his campaigns in India, the Peninsular war and his participation in Waterloo. They talked and drank until the guide appeared with a sad Elias and a nervous Elisa Gonzaga and they decided that it was time to return.

When they were returning, Collin Halkett come closer to Erick. "Yesterday I had a long talk with Prince Vladimiras about the campaigns in the Plains during the war among Lithuania and the Empire." The English colonel said.

"You couldn't get a better source. He is an outstanding commander and has a fine insight of the whole campaign." Erick replied.

"Yes. England's military observer sent to the Imperial headquarters during the war is a friend of mine and we had long talks after his return. I am specially interested in the Lithuanian retreat from the Plains. It was a masterpiece of maneuverability done in very difficult conditions. The winter came early that year and for three weeks the army had to retreat through snow and storms."

"Vladimiras saved the Lithuanian army, he was the key point in which the entire army relied for his salvation. He personally commanded the units which covered the retreat, although he also organized the necessary logistics for the retreat of the entire army from his position." Erick stated.

"You were also involved in those operations. Weren't you?"

"Yes. I commanded one of the companies of my regiment that pursued the Lithuanian columns."

"I have been told that your company had been assigned to kill Prince Vladimiras."

"That's right. Hadick, my commander, knew that Vladimiras was the key. If he had died, the entire army would have collapsed."

"So, you tried to kill him for three weeks."

Rick shook his head. "It wasn't our only task, although he was our main priority. We only tried five or six times."

The colonel laughed at the last remark. "Something similar occurred in the battle that expelled the Lithuanians from the Plains, but the end was very different."

"Yes, the Lithuanian army had been defeated and Vladimiras eldest brother, who commanded the army, lead the rearguard trying to delay our pursuit. But he wasn't so skilled as her younger brother. Hadick surrounded and exterminated them. After that, Vladimiras took the command of the army and started the long stroll through the snow and wolves to the Lithuanian border."

"We have also talked about that. And he told me that your contribution was important in the success of the extermination of the Lithuanian rearguard."

"Vladimiras was busy organizing the retreat, but he saw that his brother was in trouble and send one of his men to free them. Maybe you know him. His name is Steponas, he is the bald one with the great scar on his face."

Collin nodded in silence while listening to Erick.

Erick went on." He leaded a squadron of heavy cavalry and tried to free the rearguard. I saw his maneuver and fell on his back when they were engaged with the imperial units which encircled his comrades. "

"Although you had fought to the death two times, you seem to be good... enemies." Collin said smiling."According to your own description."

"Not only two, we had fought each other several times before."

"Yes, Vladimiras explained your first combat to me. He is still surprised that you survived."

"Me too!" Erick replied touching his right temple as he went on. "He had bad luck that day. But that was a petty issue!"

Collin smiled. "Then you were talking about the siege of... I'm sorry I don't remember the name of the city. It was a harbor by the Black sea. Wasn't it?"

"Since it was destroyed its name isn't important. The siege took place a year before the Lithuanians were expelled from the Plains. It had a port and the Lithuanians wanted it to had a foothold in the coast of the Black sea, so we endured a siege of six months trying to avoid that."

"I have been told that the Imperial army destroyed the city before leaving."

"You are well informed. We had to leave the city and the commander of the army decided that the city would be destroyed."

"The commander of the army was Adrian Simonyi, your brother. Wasn't he?"

"Yes. It isn't a secret."

"And why did he destroy the city. If the port had been destroyed, the city would have been useless for the Lithuanians."

Erick remained silent for a long while. "I don't know." He finally said.

Collin seemed to be pleased with Erick's response and the young hussar was sure that the Colonel had some hidden reason to talk with him. Erick was about to ask him why he was so interested in his past, but in that moment they reached the pavilions. Most groups have already returned and everybody was talking about the great bear that Prince Vladimiras had killed alone without help.

"Your friend had killed the bear alone! He had rejected the help from the guide or his companions!" Collin Halkett commented in surprise.

"Vladimiras hunted his first bear when he was fifteen years old. He doesn't need any help." Erick replied.

"Did he hunt his first bear alone?"

"Of course! Bear hunting is a very special tradition for the Lithuania's royal house. It is linked with traditions from pagan times and it is a combination of royal ceremony and rituals of maturity and manhood." Erick clicked his tongue and shook his head as he replied.

"Do you dislike that?" Collin asked.

Erick shrugged. " Truth to be told, I would prefer to demonstrate my manhood with women. Although it is a more dangerous way, it is also far more pleasant."

Collin Halkett laughed at the wisecrack and patted Erick's shoulder, even Pedro smiled at the joke. Erick also laughed, but the conversation about the siege and its stupid end had left him with a heavy heart. He had been garrisoned for a long time in the city by the sea and couldn't help feeling affection for it and its inhabitants. He could still see them fleeing in a long caravan with the first traces of winter in the air. "And everything was due to Adrian's stupid reaction." He thought.

They were already moving through the pavilions on their way to the improvised stables when they met Queen Elsa. She was in the front of a small building near the stables talking with Rolf.

When Rolf noticed Erick's presence, he glared at the young hussar and nodded towards him. Elsa turned and gazed at the group headed by Elias and Pedro. Erick supposed that Rolf was talking with the Queen about him. The captain of the guard had mistrusted Erick since they quarreled at Erick's arrival to Arendelle and the way Erick had crossed his pickets of light dragoons wouldn't improve their relationship.

Rolf told Elsa something as he put his hand over the hilt of his sword, but the Queen shook her head while she waved at Elias. When Erick passed by Elsa their eyes briefly met and, although Elsa maintained an attitude of indifference that was fit for Arendelle's Snow Queen, the right corner of her mouth slightly quirked up for an instant. While Erick went closer to the stables, he asked to herself what kind of Queen, or woman, could deal with the great powers of Europe with her left hand while she care about people like Elias with her right hand.

* * *

NA: Hi everybody.

With the bear hunt scene (chapters 25 to 27) starts the second part (of three) of the story. The first has been centered in the political intrigues and Elsa's first contact with them.  
The second part will be centered in the romantic aspect. I hope you will enjoy it. I'm very interested in your opinion about it, so (as usual :) any review positive or negative will be welcomed.

See you in Arendelle.


	28. Chance Encounters

NA: Well this chapter is longer than usual (that's the reason because I couldn't publish it last Saturday). They were supposed to be two chapters (when Anna enters in the library would have been the beginning of the second chapter), but as the characters act as they act due to what they believe instead of what is really happening, I supposed that it will be more understandable in an unique chapter. I hope it works!

In this chapter I detail Elsa's character. I tried to develop her from things happening in the film. I hope you like her and, as usual, reviews positive or negative will be welcomed.

See you in Arendelle.

* * *

Erick was heading towards the ballroom with Ladislas at his side. He had just met with Ladislas and his stepbrother, the Duke Adrian Simonyi, and had asked Adrian for permission to leave Arendelle. The Duke hadn't even bothered to reply and had ignored the young hussar.

"You are a fool. Do you really believe that your brother would kindly give you permission to leave?" Ladislas asked to Erick.

"Here I'm useless. The sooner I return to my regiment the better." The young hussar replied.

"Take it easy and enjoy Arendelle. There are a lot of interesting things happening. Madam Gonzaga leaves Arendelle tomorrow."

"She is luckier than me!"

"Not at all! It seems that the Queen of Arendelle has been more skilled in dealing with Mullon. It is rumored that she was supposed to leave in two days, but she didn't want to stay in Arendelle a single day once the French delegate had retired France's support to his son's claim."

"The reason for her withdrawal has been Queen Elsa's maneuvers?" Erick said surprised "It is a clumsy movement?".

"It is worse than clumsy. It is useless the French has a lot of potential candidates." Ladislas replied.

Erick frowned. A clumsy movement like that wasn't congruent with a capable woman like Elsa. Anyway, he left his doubts apart and tried to get more information. "It is said that he will support both Imperial candidates."

"I don't understand what are you talking about." The Imperial diplomat replied with feigned indifference.

"Come on! Everybody in the Imperial delegation talks about a long conversation between you and Mullon while you were returning from the pavilions. Is the Frenchman going to give support to both Imperial claims once the Spanish candidate has been discarded?."

Ladislas gazed at Erick." My dear boy, if you had remained at my side in London instead of joining the army in the Plains, you would have learned that it is useless to ask questions like this. If it was false I would tell you that it was false and if it was true, I would tell you that it was false anyway. In both cases I will tell you the same response. It is a useless question."

The veteran diplomat patted Erick's shoulder with a broad smile on his face. "Don't try to play the diplomat. Now you are just a soldier."

"And what can a soldier do in Arendelle?"

"Why don't you dance? You were very good at that in London." Saying that, Ladislas left Erick alone in the middle of the waiting room which was being used as extension of the main hall.

Once alone, Erick realized that he was in front of the great picture of Elsa and Anna which he had looked a few days ago, before the Imperial reception. He beheld the picture which displayed Elsa in her icy throne and Anna at her side with the shattered sword.

"Do you have any problem with the Imperial delegate? Remember that Queen Elsa has banned the duels." Vladimiras' voice said from behind Erick.

"We were just remembering when we were together in London." Erick replied turning.

"You gazed at him as if you wanted to kill him."

"It is a good description of our old times in London." Erick replied. "Have you talk with Collin Halkett about me? He seemed pretty interested about me."

"Yes. I have suggested him that you could be out of the imperial army soon and, after talking about your performance in the Plains, he thought that you could be a good acquisition for the English army."

"Why have you done that," Erick exclaimed in utter surprise.

"Don't worry. I have clearly stated that everything was based on supposition and hearsay. But, anyway, when I suggested that you could be interested to join the British army, he was quite interested."

"You haven't answered my question. Why have you done that?"

"Because if you were wrong and your brother could ruin your military career, you would have an option with the English. During the war with France, they even had an entire army formed by Germans. Collin Halkett was colonel of one of its regiments.

"It's name was the King's German Legion, but the English don't use foreigner soldiers anymore. "

"Anyway, he is used to work with foreigners, the English have a great empire and always need soldiers. If they don't recruit foreigners in the regiments based in England you could be assigned to any corner of the British Empire. If you were an English officer, the English would get a good light cavalry officer and , if Lithuania fought against the Empire again, you would be far away."

Erick laughed. "You have planned it down to the smallest detail."

Vladimiras smiled. "Well. I have to leave you. I have to talk with Collin's brother. Be kind with Collin Halkett. Maybe, he will give you a chance." Vladimiras said.

Both men parted and Erick entered in the ballroom looking how Vladimiras went closer to Lord Howart Halkett. "He hunted a bear in the morning and now is hunting an Englishman with different weapons." He said to himself smiling. He was so adsorbed in the Lithuanian Prince that he bumped into Princess Anna who was talking with Kristoff by the door.

"I'm sorry." Erick said.

"Don't worry." Anna replied eying him warily. She was not sure about how to react with a man who had been considered as a danger until this very evening when her sister had explained how he had helped her. " In fact, I have to thank you what you have done." Anna went on.

"Princess Anna, it is not necessary."

"Seriously. We can never thank you enough!" Anna replied.

In this moment the orchestra started to play a waltz and Erick remembered Ladislas' joke. Erick was suddenly aware of Anna's beauty. Maybe, while he had been an official candidate to her hand, he had only seen Anna as a problem to avoid, but that night she wore the dress she had worn in the coronation of her sister a year ago. Her naked shoulders and her slender neck combined with her charming smile gave her an appealing grace. "This will only bring me problems." Erick thought. "But Ladislas is a hussar colonel so I have to obey him."

"Then may I have this waltz? I would be delighted if I could dance with you this waltz." Erick replied with a broad smile on his face.

Anna's eyes widened in surprise, she hadn't expected that. " But you aren't a candidate to my hand anymore. People dance when they start to be suitors, not when they finish." Although Anna was amused by the unexpected offer, the candidates had pestered her so often that he couldn't help rejecting the offering.

"Do you can imagine a better reason of celebration than that for you and me. And it is an Imperial waltz, the entire existence of the Empire is justified just for creating that music!"

Anna smiled at the young hussar and hesitated.

They had been talking in French and Kristoff had been at Anna's side for the entire conversation, although he didn't understand a word. Erick had noticed that the blond mountain man didn't speak French and he suddenly changed to Norwegian. "Please, help me to convince her to dance with me." Erick said to Kristoff.

Kristoff was surprised by his sudden inclusion in the conversation."Of course she can dance with you. If she wants." He replied, not sure about the correct reply.

Anna beamed at Erick and extended her right hand to Erick. He took her hand and both walked towards the center of the room already full of people dancing.

Erick saw Ladislas glaring at him from one corner of the hall. The hussar decided that he would ignore him; one does not usually have the opportunity to dance with such a beautiful woman as Anna.

"Do you know that you are the first newcomer who had shown some consideration for Kristoff."

"They are still deciding if he is an ice seller or a fishmonger, let alone your relation. It's easier to ignore him." Erick replied.

"I suppose that you are right." Replied Anna. "I didn't know that you speak Norwegian."

"My mother had a personal attendant. A woman who followed her from Norway to Italy. When my mother died, she took care of me. My first lullabies and rebukes were told in Norwegian." Erick replied as they started to dance.

* * *

Alan Halkett was angry. He had tried to talk with Anna during the bear hunt, but she had avoided him and now she was merrily talking with an unknown hussar as they danced.

"Who is the man dancing with Princess Anna? He asked to his uncle Collin.

"He is Erick Simonyi, brother of the Duke Adrian Simonyi." His uncle replied. "Hey! He dance really well and Princess Anna is enjoying his company." Collin Halkett added smiling, unaware of his nephew anger.

"Erick Simonyi! Is he the man who has been discarded as Imperial suitor for Princes Anna?"

"Yes." Collin was fascinated by the young couple dancing."

"Why has he been discarded."

"I don't know, but it seems that he had decided to ignore that little detail and Princess Anna seems delighted. Look! The waltz has finished but he is asking for another dance."

Erick and Anna started to dance again. Now, a lot of people were looking at them. Allan hardly could conceal his rage, but his uncle didn't noticed it. "But he is the son of a Duke. Has he been changed by a man of equal range and position?"

"According to Howart, the current Imperial suitor is a petty Veronese Count."

"What has he done to be replaced but such an inferior man?"

"I don't have the slightest idea, but we are lucky. It seems that his military career in the Empire is coming to an end and he could be interested to join one British regiment."

"What the hell had he done to be excluded of the conquest for Anna's hand and be expelled from the Imperial army?"

"I don't know. Maybe he danced in this way with the Empress." The dance has finished and Collin, and other people, applauded them.

When the waltz finished, Erick bowed formally in front of Anna who was flushed and panting. "Do you always dance in such a way? " Anna asked with her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"This is the way to dance this waltz!"

"The other Imperials didn't dance like you."

"They aren't good dancers." He replied very seriously, but with a roguish glint in his eyes.

Anna giggled as she looked for Kristoff but the mountain man had disappeared from the hall.

"I don't see Kristoff. He was talking with Elsa while we danced." Anna told to Erick.

"She has also disappeared." Erick replied. "Maybe both are dancing." Erick looked to the couples who were dancing.

"They dancing!" Anna giggled as it was a funny idea. "I know where they are. In the eagle's nest. Come with me. My sister also wants to thank you."

They left the hall talking. They didn't noticed that Allan Halkett's eyes followed them until they went out of the room. "Tell me more about that man." He said to his uncle.

When they were out of the hall, Erick stopped. "Anna I have to tell you something."

"Yes?" She said turning to face him with a radiant smile on her face.

Erick took a deep breath. "Before I was replaced in the claim for your hand, somebody offered me to kill Kristoff. Tell him to be on guard." Erick had seen Ladislas glaring at him when they had left the hall. Since Ladislas had made the offer, Erick had wanted to warn Anna. The Imperial diplomat was capable of killing Kristoff if the Veronese Count feared him.

Anna stared in astonishment at the young hussar.

"I'm sorry." Erick said. "I didn't mean to frighten you. I know that it is not the appropriate time, but maybe we won't talk again. "

"Well. I ..." Anna's voice faltered. "I suppose that it is never the appropriate time to said something like this." When they had danced, Anna had forgotten the conference and just enjoyed the waltz. Now, the harsh reality was worse than ever. Anna gazed at Erick. "Who are you Erick? Why do you help us?"

"We are all in he same boat, just in different sides. I only want to return to my regiment the sooner the better. But I can't help you Anna, just warn you." Erick said with sad voice.

They went through the castle corridors and stairs until they reached a great balcony. Erick heard the music coming from below and then realized that they were on the roof of the great hall. The balcony was smaller than the great room. So they were hidden from the people on the little balconies placed at every side of the hall.

Kristoff and Elsa were talking in one side of the balcony. They were over a window of the main hall which was near the orchestra, so they could enjoy the music. After the crowned and bright main hall,the balcony, with his dim light from the windows below and only two people in it, seemed a private space. Erick felt uncomfortable as if he was invading something personal.

"Here you are." Anna bravely exclaimed. "The ball is downstairs!"

"He is courageous. Nobody could tell that we have been talking about her lover's death." Erick thought.

"Hi Anna." Elsa had been laughing at a Kristoff's comment and she was still smiling when he realized Erick's presence. "Oh! Hello captain Simonyi."

"Hello Queen Elsa."

"I wish you had seen us, Erick is a wonderful dancer." Said Anna taking Kristoff hands with hers.

"We have seen you dancing in the beginning of the piece, and you are right. Erick is a very good dancer."

Erick clicked his tongue. "I haven't danced in a place like this for seven years. I have gone downhill. " She concluded smiling.

"Then you should use the opportunity to practice." Anna stated. In hat very moment the orchestra started to play a new waltz.

"You are right! Queen Elsa, may I have the next dance?" Erick asked with a smile as he gazed with amused curiosity at the Queen.

"I'm sorry, but I don't dance." Elsa replied.

"Oh, don't worry." Replied the young hussar keeping his smile.

"Come with me Kristoff! I will show you some steps I have learned." Exclaimed Anna grabbing Kristoff's arm and dragged him away, though he was protesting all the way."

Elsa made a gesture as if she was going to say something to Anna, but her sister and Kristoff had already disappeared.

Elsa and Erick looked at each other. In the dim light, the black uniform of the hussar blended with the shadows. Elsa thought that although Erick seemed relaxed and calm, something in their manners revealed an inner tension. Maybe the way he occasionally looked around or his right hand always free ready to grab his saber hilt. Elsa supposed that his tension wasn't due to any real or imagined threat. It was something unconscious, a part of him, as breathing would be for anyone else.

Elsa had asked Corrado the reasons because Erick had been replaced in the Imperial claim for Anna's hand. She suspected that the hussar could be aggrieved by his replacement and his resentment would have been the reason to help Elsa. Much to her surprise Corrado has replied that Erick had voluntarily rejected Anna's hand

When Elsa had asked why Erick had rejected Anna's hand, Corrado replied that Erick was a born soldier who loved the Plains and despised anything related with the courts of the European Kings and, specially, his stepbrother who was a courtier pretending to be a General. "Erick's only desire is to return to his regiment as quick as possible." Corrado had said, but he hadn't explained that it was possible that Erick would be expelled from his regiment due to his decision. The old Italian engineer thought that It was a private issue.

The Queen of Arendelle couldn't help being ambivalent towards the young hussar. He had helped her , but she wasn't sure about his motivations and a man who could confront a Duke would be a powerful person with contacts and influences. She supposed that, although his low rank, he was a kind of warlord and couldn't help feeling uneasy. Arendelle was full of foreigner soldiers and he was one of them. Maybe he played his own game apart of the others, but that didn't make him a friend.

"If you want to be alone, I will leave you." Erick finally said.

"Please, stay. I want to thank you for your help this morning."

"You don't have to thanks for anything. It was my pleasure."

"And how are your...?" Elsa looked embarrassed. "I mean... does it hurt you." She pointed at Erick's left side where she had wounded the hussar that very morning.

"It's just a scratch! " Erick said raising his arm. "That's nothing to worry about!"

"It's a good thing." Elsa smiled with relief. "I have ordered a new uniform for you. So you will replace the one which I have spoiled this morning."

"Thank you, but it is not necessary. "

"Of course it is! My tailor will take your measurements. "Elsa said in a commanding tone of voice.

"But..."

"Enough Captain!"

Erick realized that she wouldn't accept a negative. "Well, I accept it. Thank you very much."

"You are welcome. " Elsa replied brightly smiling.

"I have to congratulate you, I have been told that tomorrow morning, Elias will embark and start his return home. "

"Yes, I have been informed." Elsa couldn't help smiling again. Madam Gonzaga had demanded to left Arendelle as soon as possible and Elsa had been delighted to please her.

"But It could be a drawback. The French will support Duke Adrian instead of Elias and this is bad news for you. Everybody talks about your awkward movement." Erick wanted to see how Elsa would react to the general opinion about her maneuvers.

"Awkward? " Elsa asked simulating surprise.

"Well, Everybody is talking about your pacts with the English and French delegates. They think that you are trying to get rid of your candidates one by one and laugh at it." Erick gazed at the Queen whose slender figure gleamed with the light from the lower balconies and stood out against the shadows like a cold flame made of ice. The hussar tried to concentrate in Queen Elsa's reactions and ignore other appealing attributes.

"Great!" Elsa thought. "The more they centered their attention on the candidates the more they will be in the darkness." Elsa tried to hide her satisfaction. " What's wrong with it?" She asked with her most innocent face.

"Come on!" Erick exclaimed simulating indignation. "Getting rid of one or two candidates is useless. They will always have another one. You have lost an opportunity to get a more general compromise with the French and you don't know if you will have another chance."

"I suppose that I lack the necessary experience to handle those issues. I didn't take that into account.". She lowered her eyes in order to feign sorrow, but also to conceal her emotions.

They remained silent Erick gazing at Elsa and the Queen looking down. Erick smiled. As he had supposed, Elsa had controlled her emotions and Erick hadn't seen any clue which could help to discover Elsa's true intentions, but he didn't believe a single word. Erick opted to lay it on the line.

"But I had a strange idea." Erick said breaking the silence.

"What do you mean?" Elsa replied raising her eyes.

"You had done the same with the English and he quickly replaced Friedrich von Schrader with Prince Vladimiras. In spite of that, you repeat the same strategy with Mullon and the French will opt for both Imperial candidates. The easy way is to suppose that you are an inexperienced Queen who is doing clumsy maneuvers."

Elsa took a deep breath. "I thought that this was your opinion about me as you clearly stated in our first conversation." She replied.

Erick nodded smiling. "But I have changed my mind. I don't believe that you are the kind of person who make the same mistake twice. Truth to be told, according to Corrado, you don't even make that mistake once. So it isn't congruent that you blatantly repeat the same behavior."

"You flatter me but..."

Erick interrupted Elsa. "Let's suppose that you haven't make any error. In a treaty there is always secret clauses and I don't know them. Maybe you have planned something and rejecting both candidates is a collateral effect or even just a smoke screen which hide your real intentions. This option makes sense. You are too intelligent to center your efforts in two candidates."

"Do you think that I have cheated two of the best diplomats of Europe? You have a too high opinion of me. " Elsa finally replied staring at Erick as impassively as she could.

"I mean that you try to cheat them."

"Do you really think that it is possible? So much have you changed your mind since our last talk?"

Erick hesitated for a second, but at the end he decided that beautiful words will be useless for a woman in Elsa's situation. "I have changed my mind about a lot of issues from then, but I still believe that you don't stand a chance. They are experienced diplomats and have the great powers of Europe behind them. On the contrary, you have just your intelligence and the wealth of a rich but small Kingdom to support you. It is just too imbalanced."

Elsa gazed at Erick for a long while in silence. Somebody laughed in the main hall as if he had also heard Erick's last comment. The sensible reaction would have been to change the subject of the conversation as if she didn't care about Erick's words, but the hussar had a surprisingly fine insight of her situation and he had stoked Elsa's fears about her capabilities. "Then why did you come this morning to pass me the information about Mullon contacts? You told me that you could get into trouble. If anything I'm doing is useless why you came?"

Erick shrugged. "That's a god question." He thought as he remembered the Veronese Count who feared marrying Princess Anna and feared, at the same time, rejecting Berganza's orders. "I believe that sometimes we have to fight even if we are sure that we will be defeated. And you are in a situation like that or you will meekly accept in your bed the man who those people decide?"

Elsa was taken aback by the harshness of his last remark.

"I'm sorry." Erick apologetically added. "I have been too long in the Plains and I have forgotten my manners. I didn't mean to bother you."

Elsa bravely smiled. "Don't worry. You just put in plain words what is happening here." Erick was still gazing at her, he had gazed at her for the whole conversation, but know she could tell that behind that eyes was more than just a soldier. "Tell me Erick. Have you explained that funny theory to anybody?"

"Who will believe it? It will remain as a private joke. It's like the brief encounter we had this morning during the bear hunt. We could say that they are just dreams. But I have a prize." Erick said as he slyly smiled.

"What do you mean?" Elsa asked, her voice hardening.

"Chess. I want to play a complete game with you. " Erick answered.

"What?" Elsa's lips curved in a dubious smile.

"Corrado doesn't believe that I was about to defeat you."

"What do you mean.?" Elsa replied with a look of amusement.

"I had breached your defenses and I was over your king. It was just a matter of time."

"I.." Elsa was going to say that she had played under her capabilities, but she hesitated. If she recognized that, then Erick would know that he had cheated him.

Erick spoke before Elsa could imagine a valid reply. "Or maybe your were feigning your defeat to distract me. You would do that to worm information out of me?" Erick said with a feigned regret in his voice as he shook his head.

Elsa was annoyed by her slip and tried to conceal it. "Have you such a bad opinion of me?"

"Quite the opposite, you want to fight and you will do whatever it's necessary. But, returning to our previous point, are we going to repeat the game?"

"Will you be white?" Elsa asked.

"Let's play the same game and then we will know who will be white. Remember that you throw the board on the ground."

"Enough, Captain Simonyi." Elsa said smiling at him. She still had doubts about him, but he had aroused her curiosity.

* * *

"I learned to play chess with a Persian carpets trader in a little city by the Black sea. I stayed at his house for four months and, as I wasn't able to leave my bed for the most of that period, he was kind enough to keep me entertained teaching me chess." Elsa and Erick were in the library seated at the chess board, both were arranging the pieces on the board to start a new game.

"Why wasn't you able to leave your bed?" Elsa asked.

"I was recovering from my first encounter with Prince Vladimiras." Erick smiled. "It was really intense." The hussar said as he waved his hand inviting Elsa to made the first movement.

They started to play. Erick looked at Elsa while she was concentrated in the board. When Elsa played chess, she was so concentrated in the game that she leave her Arendelle Queen's pose. She looked just as a twenty two years old woman who fought with the strands of her bangs which fell over her forehead. "She seems fragile like the snowflake which is displayed in her banner, but she dares to confront Europe's great powers. " Erick said to himself.

"Erick! You have to move."

"Eh" He abruptly stopped daydreaming. "Excuse me." Erick said returning his attention to the board. "Do you always use the queen so much? You risk it too much!"

"It is the most powerful piece of the game it is logic that it wears the brunt of the game."

"People usually save it exposing lesser pieces and use it in critical moments."

"If it made its work no critical moment would arise."

"Chess is like a battle and, in a battle, unexpected events are usual."

"Are you talking about your knights?" Said Elsa frowning at an unexpected movement from one of Erick's knights.

"Yes, they have a movement that is difficult to predict. Sometimes an unexpected movement is better than a movement more logical but predictable."

"Just out of curiosity, Is this rule applicable to the battlefield?"

"Of course it is. In a battle, if you were predictable, you would be dead."

"Well, I think I am pretty predictable."

"I'm not sure of that, I can't remember anything more unpredictable than your decision to return prince Hans to his country."

"They are his family it is logic that they decide his fate. "

"Why don't you sentence him to death in Arendelle? His brothers will always be soft with him."

"I don't have the right to kill anybody without a good reason."

"He tried to decapitate you and left your sister to a cold death."

"Trying is not doing, and you seem well informed." Elsa replied amused.

"Everybody in Arendelle knows the story of the brave princess Anna who avoid the destruction of Arendelle through her own sword sacrifice and saved their Queen. People explain it to their kids and to the strangers who ask."

"Brave Princess Anna." Elsa smiled at the words. "They are not fair with her. She deserves much more."

"Maybe you don't fear for your life, but what about Anna? Hans could return and try to kill her again."

"Erick, this makes no sense. Hans did what he did to be king of Arendelle. Once his scheme was discovered, he lost any option to the throne. He won't try to kill Anna because it would be useless."

"Have you heard about revenge?"

"Yes, the idea of Hans' revenge crossed my mind. I recognize that It wasn't an easy decision. Hans is a great danger for Anna an Arendelle, but we can't avoid our duty just because it is dangerous or unpleasant"

"Well, beheading Hans would have been fair enough for me."

"You would have thought the same, if you had to kill him with your own hands."

"Of course, I have killed a lot of people by far less important reasons."

"And what would that reason be?"

"He tried to kill your beloved people. If you didn't punish that , everybody who could be interested in killing you or your sister would not fear your revenge."

"It seems that only fear and revenge guide your decisions. If everybody did the same, what kind of world would we have?"

"Maybe the real world?"

Elsa laughed. "You think that I am a little girl who live in a Faerie tale, isn't it?"

"No you are a faerie Queen who don't realize how thin is the ice you are walking on." Erick said to himself as he meditated sipping his wine."You need to be brave to release a man who tried to kill you. But if I had a sister like Anna, I would never allow any menace against her." He finally said.

"If you had a sister like Anna maybe you would try to be worthy of her."

"Well..." Erick raised his eyes from the board and looked at Elsa. "I could try to do the same with Adrian, but I fear that he sets a too bad example."

Elsa softly laughed at the joke. "Do you never call him brother?" Elsa asked. "You always refer to him as Adrian or Duke."

"Never! He is not my brother. All my people is in Italy or in the Plains."

"The Plains are distant from Italy. Why do you went to the Plains?" Elsa was enjoying the conversation, but she wanted to change the subject in order to get more information about Erick's contacts and influences in the Plains.

"When I left my diplomatic career, I heard that a hussar regiment had been decimated in the Plains and they were looking for officers. As they had lost a great deal of officers, it was easy to be accepted as lieutenant."

"Why didn't you go to your county in Italy?"

"My county is a gorgeous place, but poor. My ancestors settled there as a military outpost to protect the lands behind. For six generations, they earned their living serving in the Imperial light cavalry. The unofficial motto of my family is 'Purse of beggars, pride of emperors'.

"But you are also the son of a Duke and your duchy is one of the richest in the Empire. Did you need to risk your life in the Plains?" Elsa was confused. Erick's explanations weren't congruent with a man who was able to defy the Imperial diplomacy.

"I'm just the son of a minor Italian count." Erick friendly but firmly stated.

* * *

Anna was looking for Elsa. After seeing Kristoff off, she had returned to the roof of the great hall, but Elsa wasn't there nor in the ball. Anna was worried. Before leaving for the new harbor, Kristoff had told Anna that they had to talk. His face had been so grave that Anna couldn't help worrying. She needed to talk with Elsa, but she had been elusive and distant the last days.

Anna had supposed that her sister would be in the library when she found Kurt von Schrader and Alan Halkett.

"Hello Anna. Do you know where Elsa is? She has a painting of the old watchtower to show me." The young German merrily asked.

"Hello Kurt. I'm going to the best place to find both my sister and the painting. Follow me. Both would be in the library." Anna replied smiling to both men.

When they reached the library and Anna opened the door, they found Erick and Elsa at the chess board. Anna stared at them in surprise, she hadn't expected Erick to be with Elsa.

"Hello Kurt, Hello Allan. I'm sorry. I found the painting, but I'd completely forgotten it." Elsa said looking at the German. "May I?" She asked to Erick.

"Of course." Erick replied raising to his feet.

Elsa and Kurt went near the Queen's writing desk and she took a little painting from the table. They buried themselves in a conversation about the structures depicted in the little landscape.

"Nice to see you again. Who is winning?" Anna asked Erick. She was delighted to met him because she had been avoiding Allan since her sister had joked about his possible interest for her. The hussar would provide an interesting conversation and Anna won't be alone with the Englishman.

"Well, your sister is an outstanding player." Erick replied.

"I know it. I have suffered her skill with the chess. Are you going to lose?"

"I'm not sure. Although she controls the center of the board, I still have a chance, but it is disappearing by the minute." Erick joked.

Anna realized that Allan was at his side waiting. "I'm sorry Allan. I forgot to introduce you."

"Don't worry Anna." Allan replied. "Captain Allan Halkett captain of the frigate HMS Nymphe." He added reaching out his hand towards Erick.

"Captain Erick Simonyi, 13th hussars." Erick replied shaking Allan's hand.

" You are the brother of Duke Simonyi."

"Yes, I am." Erick replied.

"I have been told that you are no longer a suitor to Anna's hand."

"You are well informed." Erik replied.

"But it's surprising that you have been excluded by a small Italian Count."

"Taking into account that I'm also a small Italian Count the exchange isn't so surprising." Erick replied with cold politeness.

Anna gazed at the young Englishman in surprise. He didn't understand why Allan was asking such strange questions. "Allan what do you..."

But Allan didn't pay attention to Anna. "I can hardly imagine why the son of an Imperial Duke would be replaced by a minor Count. Everybody thinks that there is a hidden reason." Allan was convinced Erick had been rejected as Anna's suitor due to a questionable act done by the hussar and, now, the Imperial was trying to seduce Anna regardless. He had get more information about Erick from his uncle and wanted to discover Erick's secret.

Erick shoot him an unfriendly glance. "And I can hardly imagine why you are asking these questions." Erick surly replied.

Elsa and Kurt noticed that something was going wrong and fell silent. Both listen in silence the conversation between Erick and Allan.

"My uncle is interested in recruiting you for the English army, I want to know why you are considering to leave your titles and privileges and join us." Allan went on.

Elsa's eyes widened in surprise. The Englishman last words had been revealing. She realized that Erick would be expelled from the Imperial army for his rejection to marry Anna. His replacement by a Veronese Count wasn't a consequence, as Allan thought, but the reason for his expulsion.

"I have never told that!" Erick replied.

"Common! Then why does my Uncle Collin consider that you will be willing to left the Empire and fight as a mercenary?"

"Ask your uncle!"

"I'm asking it to you!"

"You ask too much!" Erick replied with a menacing tone if voice. Kurt stepped forward ready to place himself between both men.

"I'm the nephew of the man who will decide if you would be allowed to enter in our army. You aren't in a position to negotiate." Allan replied hardening his voice.

Anna leaped forward and placed herself between both men. "Hey! Please, calm down!"

Erick was fed up with the Englishman's arrogance. He could hardly resist the impulse to slap Allan's face and ask him if he would be so bold with a sword in a duel. But, when Anna interposed herself between them, he realized that slapping Allan's face would be a serious diplomatic incident. If a duel was declared in Elsa and Anna's library, it would weaken Elsa's position in the negotiations, not to mention that Elsa had banned the duels.

"Queen Elsa has banned the duels." He just replied to Allan. The Englishman was obviously surprised by Erick's response. Anyway he was going to reply but Kurt interposed himself between both men. "My friend doesn't meant to offend you."

Erick ignored both men. "Princess Anna, Queen Elsa with your permission, I will take my leave. I'm sorry for leaving the chess game, but anyway you would have won".

"I will keep the board untouched. I would like to finish the game another day. I hope that you will fight even if you know that you will lose." The Queen said with a knowing smile on her face.

Erick could tell by Elsa's gaze that she was not just talking about chess. "I will, to the bitter end!" He replied before turning and leaving the room.

"Why have you pressed so much the hussar?" Kurt asked.

"He is trying to join the British army and I have to ensure that he doesn't have any dark secret."

"Are you crazy! He is an experienced hussar, my brother said that the Lithuanians fear him because he used to chase their scouts during the war and you are a navy Captain. He could have killed you in a duel. "

Allan hadn't expected that the hussar would dare to defy him. He should be crazy to defy the nephew of the man who would hire him. "Maybe he is officially the son of a Duke, but actually, his family despises him he is just a small Italian Count."

"He hadn't denied that. As a matter of fact he had proudly stated it." Kurt replied.

"He is too proud for being just a minor Count!"

"He has the pride of an Emperor." Elsa said looking at the door through which Erick had left the room. She had been fully aware of the implications of a duel started in her private rooms and she felt relieved by the final result of the situation.

"That's a good joke!" Allan exclaimed. "Being an Imperial, he have an Imperial pride." Allan replied laughing at the supposed joke.


	29. Kristoff's Decision

"Wow!" Exclaimed Anna when Allan and Kurt left the room. After Erick's leaving, the atmosphere had been strained and the German and the Englishman had stayed only a few minutes with both sisters before retiring from the library.

"WOW!' Elsa replied louder than her younger sister while she approached to the chess board and delicately took it.

Anna looked in silent how her sister brought the board to its usual place in a corner of the room. After placing the board, Elsa put in the center of its square a black knight which has moved when she had been moving the board.

"Are you going to finish the game? Erick said that you were about to win."

"Three times I have been about to defeat him and three time he had found an unexpected way to reduce his losses and, in one occasion, he had been about to kill my Queen!"

Anna smiled as she realized that Elsa was really interested in the chess game. "Talking about killing, I thought that Erick would attack Allan. When I interposed myself between them, he had an expression that frightened me."

"And you placed yourself between them anyway!" Elsa exclaimed shaking her head. "Brave Princess Anna." She said to herself before going on. "I have to recognize that I was surprised that, much to my relief, he didn't defy Allan to a duel." Elsa said raising her eyebrows. "And what was wrong with Allan!" Elsa exclaimed. "He almost deserved to get killed." Elsa looked at Anna as if she should know the reason.

"I don't know! " Anna replied spreading her hands as if she was showing that she wasn't hiding anything.

"I'm going to tell Kai that somebody must watch him. He may create problems." Elsa said going towards the door.

"I'll go." Anna said. "So I will check if Kristoff is back." Saying that, the Princess of Arendelle started to walk towards the door, but she suddenly stopped.

"Elsa, may I ask you a question?"

The young Queen looked at her sister in surprise. If Anna were asking permission to ask a question, it would be a very delicate one. Anna was seldom so shy with her questions. "Of course you can!"

Anna seemed embarrassed as if she wasn't sure about how to phrase the question and Elsa patiently waited with a soft smile on her face.

"After the waltz, Erick told me that somebody offered him to kill Kristoff because he was my boyfriend. So it would be easier for Erick to marry me."

Elsa's eyes widened as she looked at her sister in incredulity. "Have you warned Kristoff?"

Anna shook her head. "I wanted to talk with you before. Do you believe that it could be truth?"

Elsa slowly nodded."They are mighty and proud men with the power of their countries behind them and Kristoff is just a mountain man. Nobody likes that his wife to be has a boyfriend and most of them would feel Kristoff's low-born origin as an added insult."

"Do they expect that I would accept a man who has killed Kristoff?"

"I suppose that it would seem an accident. If we haven't been warned, it could have work. I will comment it to Monsieur Mullon and Lord Halkett in a indirect way. So they will be aware that we wouldn't accept any future accident, but there are are too many suitors to check them all."

Anna stared at her sister, her face turned pale. "I have to explain it to him as soon as possible." The Princess said as she left the room. Once alone, her elder sister sighed and massaged her temples as she used her icy powers adding a cold touch. She needed something to take her mind of things and got nearer the chess board. Elsa started to study the position of the pieces trying to find out the way to catch the elusive hussar.

* * *

Few minutes before, Anna walked alone through the corridors of the castle in her way towards the library. She had talked with Kai passing Elsa's message and had checked that Kristoff was still with Corrado.

She was very worried about Kristoff. Until that moment, she had been hesitating about what she would be able to offer to the mountain man. Due to the conference, her perspectives weren't encouraging rather gloomy and Anna felt that she wasn't in the right to retain Kristoff at her side. They had been avoiding the issue, but, after Erick's confidence, she feared for Kristoff's life and didn't dare to keep waiting. She had to..."

In that moment Allan appeared in the opposite end of the corridor. He had been wandering through the castle trying to find her. "Anna! May I talk with you?" Allan said.

"Of course." Anna warily replied. After the scene in the Library, she was not sure she wanted to talk with Allan. "Why do you said those things in the Library?"

"This is not important now. I want to have a talk with you about the conference."

"The conference?" Anna looked at Allan in surprise.

"Anna you are going to be married to the suitor they will choose and I can't stand it!"

"Yes. It is an uneasy situation." Anna said. "Like this." She thought.

"Anna I can help you."

"How?" Anna asked.

"Anna." Allan hesitated before going on. "I love you. I could talk with my uncle, Lord Howart Halkett to ensure that I would be the chosen one."

"But... but you aren't a suitor." Anna replied.

"This won't be a problem. Anna! We will be so happy together." Allan said approaching to Anna.

She stepped back looking warily at Allan. "Allan I fear that this is not possible, but if you could help my sister in her negotiations with your uncle, I would be very grateful to you for your help. "

"Anna. You are still trying to protect your sister. Forget her. She is betraying you!"

"What do you mean?" Anna replied frowning.

"She is negotiating with the different delegates, but her movements are stupid and selfish. She is centering only in her own suitors and she don't care for you."

"This is a lie!"

"Anna. I understand your reaction but you have to face the facts. Your sister had reached an agreement with my uncle to get rid of Friedrich von Schrader."

"What!" Anna stared at Alan in amazement.

Allan realized that she was surprised by the news and went on in the same way. "And everybody knows that Madam Gonzaga is leaving due to your sister's maneuvers." In fact, Allan wasn't sure, but he had heard rumors about it. "She has been getting rid of her suitors and hasn't tried to do anything for you."

Anna was astonished, nobody had told her about that and she felt excluded. A shiver passed through her and she staggered. "Why has Elsa lied me?" Anna asked to herself while she leaned her side against the wall.

Allan interpreted Anna's state as acceptance of his words and went on. "Anna I could help you. We can marry and you will get rid of all this terrible mess."

"I can't marry you. I love another man." Anna said, although she immediately regretted her slip.

"Are you talking about the Imperial? He isn't a good man Anna and he won't help you as I can." Alan replied.

"Are you talking about Erick?" Anna replied. "I don't love him!"

"Then who are you..." Allan started to ask, but he suddenly stopped. "Are you talking about the fishmonger?" Allan exclaimed in an indignant tone of voice.

"He is an ice seller." Anna replied. The tone of voice used by Allan when talking about Kristoff had aroused her anger.

"He doesn't deserve you. He is a low-born man and unworthy of your love. Anna you must be joking. Is this a trick to play hard to get?"

"I'm not joking and you are insulting me."

"Ana. Please, be reasonable! With your sister and the fish... ice seller you don't have any opportunity. He can't help you and she is betraying you."

"My sister isn't betraying me! Measure your words!"

"Well, let's be reasonable people." Allan tried to talk in a more friendly way." Even if your sister is not betraying you, she couldn't triumph against the power of England and France. Her fall is inevitable, but you don't have to fall with her. Please, let me help you."

"I prefer to fall with my sister." Anna replied in anger.

Allan was taken aback by Anna's tone of voice. " So, you would be with your ice seller." He spitefully replied. He felt that he has been wronged by Anna's preference for Kristoff. "At least the Imperial was a noble." He added.

Anna felt the impulse to slap him in the face, but in that very moment Rolf's voice interrupted the argument.

Rolf had heard sounds and had come to see what was going on."Anna... I mean Princess Anna do you have any problem." He asked.

Anna took a deep breath. "No. I don't have any problem, but Mister Halkett has got lost and needs to be guided. Please, show him the way to the main hall."

"It will be my pleasure." Rolf said interposing himself between Allan and Anna."Please sir, this way." The captain said waving his hand.

"I don't need to be guided!" Allan replied still irritated.

"Then let me walk with you." Rolf replied with a stony expression on his face as he pushed aside the tail of his jacket showing the hilt of his sword.

"Do you know who I'm?" Allan asked frowning.

"The Prince of Wales?" Rolf asked with a cold irony.

"Mister Halkett." Anna interrupted. "Return to the main hall. Please." The last word was said in a commanding tone of voice.

In a sulky silence, Allan turned and went towards the main hall.

"Are you fine Anna?" Rolf asked.

"I'm fine. Thanks Rolf." Anna said with a faint smile on her face. "Please, follow the Englishman. "

Rolf nodded and followed Allan.

Anna took a deep breath and went towards the Library. She started to walk, but, when she reached the doors of the room, she was almost running and entered without knocking.

Elsa was in her desk reading a book which she quickly closed. "She is hiding something." Anna thought, but she had too many things to say to care about that.

"What's happened?" The expression on Anna's face startled Elsa. "Has something happened to Kristoff?" She asked raising from her chair.

"Is it true that you are making pacts with the delegates and getting rid of some candidates?"

"Oh, pretty!" Elsa thought. "Who had told you that!" Elsa asked in surprise. She had given instructions to Kai to don't explain anything to Anna and they were the only two peole who knew the contents of the treaties.

"Allan Halkett told me." Anna replied in anger. "Is it true?"

"Yes it is." Elsa softly answered.

Anna's fury evaporated and was replaced by a great sadness. She had hoped until the last moment that Allan was lying. "Why? Elsa, I know that I'm not so intelligent as you, but I could have helped you. I would have done my best."

"Don't tell that!" Elsa exclaimed. "This isn't the reason."

"Then you don't trust me."

"I trust you more than any other person, including myself."

"Then why do you maintain me in the darkness? My future and the future of Kristoff will also be decided in the conference. We should know. Why didn't you tell me anything."

Elsa remained silent for a long while." I'm sorry." She calmly said. "But I can't tell you anything."

"Allan Halkett said that you were betraying me."

"That's not true!" Elsa replied, her eyes widened in horror by Anna's words.

"I know, but it is difficult to trust you in that conditions. Why are you so secretive? You behave as you did before the coronation, you and your secrets. I supposed that we had learned something."

Elsa took a deep breath. "Anna I'm doing the best for you and Arendelle, but if I explained my scheme to you, everything would be spoiled. Trust me. I wish I could tell you."

"And what can I answer to Kristoff when he asked me about our future."

" If everything worked fine, you could do what you want."

"Am I to blindly accept your words? I don't deserve that!" Ana exclaimed.

"You are right. You don't deserve that, but, please, believe me. It is the only way unless..."

"Unless?" Anna raised her eyebrows.

"You could renounce to your title of Princess. As I told you, you would have a generous income."

"Don't talk me about that again. I will never leave you."

Both sister gazed at each other. Anna was hardly able to refrain her indignation and Elsa looked as if she had all the sorrows of Arendelle over her shoulders. "This is not fair." Finally, Anna exclaimed before she turned and left the room. "Yes. This is not fair." Elsa said banging on the book in front of her. She was fed up with the plan which she had devised.

* * *

Kristoff had returned from the new harbor. Usually, he stayed there more time helping Corrado, but, that day, everything was different. He wanted to have a long talk with Anna before leaving for the Valley of the living Rock.

He had finally made a decision. Seeing Anna and the hussar dancing had helped him. Anna had been happy dancing with him. She loved so much dancing and Kristoff only knew the popular dances. A waltz was utterly unknown to him. And It was just an example of far more important things in which he was utterly unprepared.

Anna would marry in a few weeks and perhaps her future husband would be a good man. At least, he will be a noble man with the necessary skills to marry a Princess and become a Prince. If Kristoff remained in Arendelle he would be like a ghost haunting Anna's live as a constant remainder that she had been forced to marry. Anna's marriage would be condemned to fail from the beginning.

The best option was to leave Arendelle, so Anna would have an opportunity to be happy with her husband. And, truth to be told, Kristoff thought that he wasn't strong enough to see Anna marrying with other man. "It is the most sensible option." Kristoff repeated trying to convince himself

He turned a corner and saw the door of the library and Anna leaning against it. He sighed. Maybe it was the most logical way but he felt as if his hearth was being teared apart. "It is the best for Anna." He finally said to himself as he stride towards her.

After closing the door of the library, Anna leaned her back against the closed door. She felt dizzied and her legs trembled.

"Are you all right?" Kristoff asked when he saw Anna's expression.

Anna quickly pulled herself together and bravely smiled at her boyfriend. "Of course. I am just a bit tired." She didn't want that Kristoff remembered a dispirited Anna when he left for the Valley. She thought that perhaps it would be the last memory he would have of her. "But when I see you I feel ready to jump from a cliff on tree."

Kristoff smiled at Anna's joke. "Have you talked with your sister?"

"Yes. I have."

"It seems that the conversation had been intense. Have she finally explained her plans to you?"

"Well. It seems that she has a plan and she is moving things with the delegates, but she can't explain it to me."

"Why?" Kristoff asked in surprise.

"I don't know. I suppose that she fears that I would spoil it." Anna said with a sad expression on his face.

"Maybe she fear that I would spoil it if you told me, and she is right. I never know what I have to do in the court." Kristoff thought. "And hasn't she given you any indication about what she is going to do?"

"She just repeated her offer to renounce to my title and leave Arendelle." Anna gazed at Kristoff in silence before going on "I'm sorry, but I can't leave my sister. Even if she is so secretive." She wistfully looked at Kristoff.

He shrugged. "Anna you are the woman who tried to climb a steep mountain face with your bare hands or placed yourself between your sister and a sword. Do you believe that I would doubt about your response? "

Kristoff felt each word as a knife through his heart. Anna loved her sister, thus she should stay in Arendelle. He loved Anna, thus he had to leave Arendelle. But that didn't make things easier and he didn't know how to start. "Anna this situation is unsustainable. " He finally said.

Anna forced a smile. "Well I have something more to explain to you."

"What more?"

Anna took a deep breath, she didn't want to talk, but she couldn't hide it. "Erick told me that somebody offered him to kill you. "

"What!" Kristoff exclaimed.

"Yes. It seems that somebody thought that you could be a nuisance for my husband to be."

Kristoff gazed at Anna in astonishment. "Elsa was right! They aren't better than Hans!" He muttered. Kristoff's mind was whirling, his previously devised schemes had been eclipsed by one single idea. If he left Anna alone, what would happen to her with men like that.

"I would understand you, if you leave..." Anna's voice broke for an instant. "...Arendelle for ever. In fact I think that it would be the best option." She hadn't planned to say that in fact she hadn't planned anything, but she wasn't able to endure the possibility of Kristoff being killed. "Anyway I wasn't sure about what I could reply to him, if he asked to marry me. " She told to herself.

Kristoff had been planing to say that a few minutes before, but now he thought that it was unacceptable. "Climbing mountains, stopping swords, stay by her sister even when she rejected or don't trust her and, now, she would let me to leave without a word of reproach." Kristoff thought gazing at Anna, her beautiful blue eyes were full of sadness. Kristoff was sure that she was checking her tears to make easier for him to leave her. "He is protecting me. Even at the edge of the abyss she is more worried about me or Elsa than for herself."

Anna went on. "So, I think that it will be the best if you don't return to Arendelle after the trolls festival."

Kristoff shook his head. "I'm not going to leave you with that bunch of assassins."

A faint and sad smile appeared on Ana's face."I'm not in danger. They want to wed me, not to kill me."

"And what if one of them decides that you can bother somebody?" Kristoff exclaimed.

"Kristoff! They were talking about killing you! I don't let you to stay in Arendelle." Now, Anna was talking in a commanding tone of voice.

Kristoff felt a sudden surge of disdain for the delegates who were imposing such a situation. "If the conference didn't exists, I would be asking her to marry me." Kristoff was saying to himself when he had a sudden inspiration.

"Anna If you could choose, would you marry me?"

Anna was taken aback by the unexpected reply and gaped at Kristoff.

Kristoff raised his hands as if he wanted to stop Anna and smiled."I know that you can't marry me, but if you could..."

"Of course I would!" Anna said. "If Elsa convinced the delegates, you could return and then...

"No. We have to settle that before the delegates reach a final decision. If we waited, we would accept that they have some right to decide for us. I'm not going to wait what the delegates would decide!" He said while Anna gazed at him, tears slid on her cheeks and gleamed with the lights of the torches which hanged from the walls.

"Kristoff you must leave." Anna said in a quiet murmur.

"It's too late for that." Kristoff replied gently taking Anna's hands between his. "Anna of Arendelle. I will be at your side the rest of my life. Whatever happens, whatever the result of the conference. Maybe I can't be your husband, but I will be your support and your friend, always. I swear it!" Anna was to reply, Kristoff shook his head. "I'm not going to leave you alone with them. Whatever happens, we will face it together."

Anna saw that Kristoff would be adamant and, truth to be told, her previous determination had disappeared. She raised her right hand, leaving her left one between Kristoff's great hands, and caressed his face. "Kristoff Bjorgman, I will be at your side the rest of my life and I will share my life with you as far as my duties as Princess will allow me. I swear! But not just as a friend! " A new resolution gleamed in Anna's eyes when she said the last phrase.

"Anna what do you..." Kristoff started to ask, but Anna took his arm and pulled him along the corridors of the castle until the reached Anna's room which was near the library. Kristoff was so surprised that he couldn't say anything until he was in Anna's bedroom looking how she closed the door and locked it from inside.

"What are you doing Anna?" He asked looking around in surprise.

"I will show you in a moment. Please, could you unfasten my dress." She replied turning her back to Kristoff and signaling where the laces of her dress were fastened in a knot.

"What!"

"I just need that you untie the knot. I can unlace the rest."

"Are you sure about what are you doing?" Kristoff asked.

"Kristoff. Untie the knot NOW!" She said in her most commanding tone of voice.

"Ok. Ok. But..." Kristoff said while he untied the knot.

"I have desired to do that since the beginning of this nasty issue. Until now I have been refraining because the life I can offer you is a sad one, but if you are going to share my life we will take it to its logical conclusion."

"Anna. This doesn't make sense. You will marry in a few days! I don't want to be a burden for you."

"And what were you thinking about when you offered to share my live? Will we be in a spiritual chastity?"

Kristoff looked embarrassed. "Well. I recognize that I haven't thought about that."

"I have thought!" Anna replied. "For months, I have been tormented by my wedding day to come and, specially, my wedding night. They held meetings to decide who will marry me and I had to wait. But I'm not going to wait any longer. You have given me an opportunity and, now, I can decide. Today will be my wedding day and I will choose who will share my wedding night!

Kristoff didn't know what to say, but shook his head.

Anna sighted in despair. "I know that what I'm offering to you isn't fair. In fact it is a meager thing. I'm a Princess and I can give me completely to you and you deserve much more. But it is all I can give you. " Her voice faltered saying the last words.

Kristoff hesitated before replying. "Anna I don't care about that. Well, as a matter of fact, I care. I care a lot, but it is not the point. Marrying isn't as easy as that. This is just a fake."

"The fake will be the ceremony officiated by Bishop Bodo with a stranger at my side."

"Not everybody will think the same. "What do you suppose that your husband would do with you if he discovered this."

"The same that he could do to you by just staying at Arendelle. If we are going to face this together, we will have to share the risk. " Anna said the last words in loud voice as she wasn't able to stand the mere idea of Kristoff being in danger.

"Anna I fear for your safety."

"I also fear for our safety."Anna replied emphasizing the word 'our'. There isn't an easy and safe way to solve this. We must be together in this or you can return to your mountains." Anna's raised her voice in anger

They remained in silent until Anna calm down. "Kristoff, I'm sorry. Maybe, is a fantasy, but it will be my fantasy and I will stick to it." After that she remained silent again for a moment, her shoulders trembling, before went on. "Our fantasy or are you going to leave me alone." Anna finally muttered with pleading eyes.

Kristoff held her gaze for a few seconds, hesitating. She felt as if they had been looking at each other eyes for hours. "I don't. We will face them together." Kristoff said starting to take off his jacket .

He untied the sash around his waist while Anna nervously unlaced her black bodice. Kristoff turned looking for a place to left the jacket and the sash. He had never been in Anna's bedroom. Finally he left them on a chair by the bed and unbuttoned his shirt.

After leaving the shirt over the jacket and taking off his boots, he asked. "May I turn?"

Anna giggled behind him. "Of course you can!"

Kristoff slowly turned with only his trousers on and gasped. Anna was standing in front of him, she had take all her clothes off and was covered only by her dress which she subjected over her breasts. The dress hanged in front of Anna barely covering her slender body.

Kristoff kept his breath, he was able to glimpse the contours of Anna's body. She started to come closer to Kristoff, but she suddenly stopped out of Kristoff's reach. She stood still and intensely gazing at him, her hearth panting.

"A...a..a" Kristoff stammered and gulped trying to find the words. "Are you hesitating?"

"No." Anna replied mischievously smiling. "I'm just enjoying the moment." Anna was aware of her heart beating like a drum. She dropped her dress and come closer to Kristoff so close that both could imagine to feel the warm of each other on their skin. Their bodies almost touched.

Anna Kissed Kristoff's mouth. She felt that he was tense.

"Come on!" Anna softly smiled with a twinkle in her eyes. "I'm not a dragon!"

"I suppose that I still can't believe that we are here, you are a Princess of Arendelle." Kristoff replied.

Anna approached her mouth to his ear. When she leaned forward, Kristoff felt Anna's breasts touching his chest and took a deep breath. "Princess Anna is out of this room." Anna whispered. "Here, with you, I'm Anna Bjorgman and Anna Bjorgman is not going to wait what the delegates will decide!" Saying that, Anna laid on the bed gently pulling Kristoff down behind her.


	30. In the eye of the Storm

It was a dream, it was the first battle he had fought with Vladimiras commanding the opposing side and it was a complete mess. It was supposed to be an easy flanking operation performed by an army corp, but they had found a little Lituanian force blocking one of the fords that they had to cross. If they had waited for the artillery, the cannons would have badly mauled the Lithuanian lines and, once weakened, the cavalry would have charged to wipe them off.

But the Imperial General didn't want to wait, he was hungry for glory, and ordered a cavalry charge. He affirmed that the Lithuanian infantry was of poor quality and wasn't able to stand against the Imperial cavalry. But the Lithuanians had resisted and, now, the battle was a chaos. The Imperial cavalry tried to reorganize their ranks and the Lithuanian infantry tried to kill as many dismounted cavalrymen as they managed to catch without breaking their formation.

In the dream, Erick was again a young lieutenant acting as aide-de-camp, and had brought a message to the colonel of a regiment who, according to the General's opinion, was too cautious. Erick was returning but he had lost the way. He was trying to locate the General when he saw a lonely Lithuanian battle flag in the top of a hill. A squad of cuirassiers had attacked the flag which was protected by a Lithuanian heavy cavalry squad. Now, Lithuanian and cuirassiers laid dead around the flag or were engaged in a bloody melee a hundred of meters away. The Imperials tried to reach the flag, but were outnumbered by their opponents.

Erick saw an opportunity to catch the flag. It was protected by just a man, a huge infantryman or dismounted cavalryman who grasped the flagpole with his left hand and a huge sword with the right one while he beheld the progress of the battle at the bottom of the hill. He seemed strangely unconcerned about the nearby cavalry combat. A group of Lithuanian infantrymen were approaching to the battle flag and they would surround it in a few minutes. But, now, it was possible to ride through the approaching infantry and the fighting cavalry. It was risky, but Erick was a young lieutenant and he also felt the lust for glory.

Although Erick knew what was going to happen, he spurred his horse towards the battle flag. The man by the standard was so engrossed in the battle that he didn't event look at Erick. "This will be easy." Erick thought. "I will kill him before he realizes that I'm at his back and I will be far away with the flag before the infantry could react."

Erick was raising his saber to hit the Lithuanian when he suddenly turned. Erick learned by the hard way that it wasn't easy to take Vladimiras by surprise. Although he was watching the battle, he had noticed the young hussar presence and had peeked his attack through a little mirror which decorated the pommel of his sword.

He had patiently waited until Erick had been over him and suddenly turned taking advantage of his longer sword. Vladimiras struck with the massive weapon as if it was as light as a foil, aiming at Erick's neck. Erick would have been decapitated, but, with lightning quick reflexes, he instinctively leaned back desperately trying to avoid the thrust. He barely avoided to be decapitated but the sword hit his right temple cutting skin and a bit of bone, but not piercing his skull.

The young hussar nearly fell from his horse, but, even half stunned by the blow, he desperately grasped the pommel of the saddle. Stunned, numb and half blinded by the blood which bleed from his wound, the Imperial spurred his horse and trusted that the animal would choose the correct way. Hopefully, the Lithuanian cavalrymen wouldn't notice him. In his current condition, he would be an easy prey. Erick went away on his horse at full gallop, followed by the gaze of the surprised Vladimiras. "He should be dead! How has he dodged my attack?"

Steponas, who was leading the Lithuanian heavy cavalry had left the combat and stopped at Vladimira's side. "Must I kill him?" He asked looking at the staggering black figure on the runaway horse. The Lithuanian noble hadn't any scar on his face.

"Forget him! We have a lot of things to do." Vladimiras replied turning again his attention to the battle. He had planned to block the pass of the Imperial army corp until the arrival of the artillery. The premature attack of the cavalry had been an unexpected gift which had allowed him to kill a lot of Imperial cavalrymen, but the artillery would arrive at any time and he had to retire his army before the imperial cannons destroyed it.

Meanwhile, Erick's horse reached the forest with its rider desperately trying not to fall from the horse. "This is a dream stupid! You don't have to repeat everything you have done before. " A voice suddenly said.

Ice, Erick's horse, stopped and the young hussar realized that he could see again. The great wound in his right temple, which had been soaking his uniform with blood, had stop bleeding. His brand new Lieutenant uniform had disappeared and he wore his Captain uniform, which was worn by endless days under the sun and the rain. The man who had talk was another hussar of the 13th regiment, clad in black and with the silver death head on his shako.

"Paul!" Erick delightedly exclaimed. Paul Dabrowsky had been his best friend in the regiment and he had found him lost in the forest, blind and bleeding the day that Vladimiras had been about to kill him. Both were only half Hungarians, he was the illegitimate son of a Hungarian count with a Polish noblewoman, and they had relied on each other in a regiment strictly composed of Hungarians. "But you were killed by Vladimiras during the Lithuanian retreat from the Plains." Erick exclaimed.

"Yes, He was luckier when he tried to kill me."

"I'm sorry I failed you."

"Don't worry a Vladimiras' man nearly impaled you when you tried to save me. But talking about killing, why is the Englishman still alive? Allan Halkett must be dead or, at least, a duel should have been arranged. I don't recognize you. You have killed people for lesser affronts!"

"I was about to slap him in the face but Anna interposed herself between us."

"You were able to talk. You should have defied him!" Paul replied.

Erick shrugged. "I wasn't able to do it. When Anna looked at me, I realized that she feared me and I felt ashamed, they have problems enough to add one more."

"Why do you care so much for them. You shouldn't get involved in the affairs of the crowned heads."

"They aren't just crowned heads. Anna is delightful and Elsa is so..."Erick hesitated. " protective and idealist. The delegates will tear her apart like a pack of wolves."

"This isn't your business. Where is your pride? If people knew that you tamely accepted such an affront, they would lose their respect for you."

Erick felt a sharp pang of shame due to Paul's words. "Come on! Was I supposed to spoil the reputation of both sisters provoking a duel in their private chambers just by pride?"

"Look our uniform." Paul sternly replied. "Black as a crown and a crown can't become an eagle. We are only half Hungarians. I was the bastard son of an Hungarian Count and a Polish noblewoman. For the Poles I was an Hungarian and for the Imperials I was Pole. And you are a petty Italian Count with the same problem. We have to be proud because pride is the only thing we have. Pride is our banner and will be our shroud. "

Vladimiras suddenly joined to the talk. He had appeared out from nowhere. "I'm glad that I haven't killed you. You still had to save Antanas' life." The Lithuanian Prince said.

"That happened the day in which our regiment killed your elder brother during the battle just before the Lithuanian withdrawal from the Plains." Paul replied.

"The same day that you become heir to the Lithuanian crown due to your brother's dead." Erick added.

"A sad day in many ways." The Prince bitterly said. "But who are you?" He added looking at Paul.

"Paul Dabrowsky, Captain of the 13th hussar regiment, Prince Vladimiras heir to the Lithuanian throne." Erick said doing the appropriate introductions.

"We have met before." Paul friendly commented. "You killed me during the Lithuanian retreat from the Plains."

"I'm sorry." The Lithuanian Prince said.

"Don't worry goes with the job." Paul replied.

Erick noticed that the landscape had changed and they were in a hill near a city by the sea. The city was burning and a huge column of black smoke raised to the windless autumn sky.

"Your brother had ordered its destruction. You and your squad are blowing up the harbor and Corrado's men are burning the city" Paul said.

"I never understood why he ordered it. Winter was coming and, if we had conquered the city, we would have to feed the people. Our objective was to get a harbor in the Black sea. If the army had just destroyed the harbor before leaving the city, it would have been useless." Vladimiras added.

"Some people of the city try to contact you to pact a surrender. They were discovered and Adrian decided to punish the city before leaving it." Erick replied.

"That was stupid. We got rid of a great problem." Vladimiras exclaimed.

"Not so stupid as a young Captain of hussars who dare to talk in a meeting of the army's high command to protest the decision to destroy the city." Paul sarcastically said.

"I just give support to Corrado's opinion!" Erick exclaimed.

"Corrado is an engineer and your stepbrother doesn't hate him. If your Colonel hadn't said that you were talking on his behalf, Adrian would have court-martialed you." Paul replied. "Although he took revenge on both of you assigning to you the destruction of the harbor and the city."

Suddenly, a great explosion destroyed a pier. "You make a good job in the harbor. When we enter in the city, it was completely destroyed and useless." Vladimiras said shaking his head. "I have to leave. I'm still your enemy after all." Vladimiras said leaving them alone again.

Suddenly the landscape changed. The city was surrounded by mountains, although it was still by the sea. Erick realized that the mountains surrounding the city were the Apennines. "I have lived in a place like this when I was a child" He said to himself. "This hill looks like the place where my father and I trained the horses. I had broken a lot of colts in that place."

"I also have to leave you. I'm dead after all." Paul said.

Before Erick was able to said anything the Pole has already disappeared and the mountains had changed again. They were now the mountains around Arendelle and over the city was a column of ice and snow raising to the sky. Erick had seen columns like that every morning when he was training his horse and beheld how Elsa thawed her ice constructions. He had disliked them, since they reminded him the great column of smoke over the city by the Black sea. But, in his dream, the ice column shimmered in the sunlight like a cold flame made of ice hanging in the sky. He was suddenly aware of its breathtaking beauty and took a deep breath.

Suddenly he heard the sound of somebody gasping and he started to awaken. Everything around him faded but the shimmering flame which kept gleaming in the darkness.

* * *

The sleigh, which was running over wheels as a wagon, reached the border of the forest and disappeared among the trees. Anna waved her hand although she knew that Kristoff was too far away. After seeing Kristoff off for the Valley with the sleigh overloaded with gifts from Anna and Elsa for Kristoff's family, Anna had run to the top of the castle walls to watch the sleigh.

Now, Anna jumped from the battlement to which she had climbed and roved the castle walls. She couldn't help feeling fear for Kristoff who will be alone in the woods. It will be a wonderful occasion for an assassin. She shook her head as if she tried to remove those thoughts. "He will take care of himself. But I'm going to miss him even if he is out only two days." The mountain man had promised that he would return tomorrow evening.

Anna had a sudden impulse to return to her bead and fancy that Kristoff was still sleeping at her side as she had found him when they had awoken in the morning. But she took a deep breath and decided that she was going to get more information about Elsa's treaties. In that very moment, she noticed that Kai was coming up the stairs waving at her. She stopped and waited for the seneschal.

"Good morning Princess Anna." Kai said when he reached the top of the stairs.

"Good morning Kai." Anna replied.

"Your sister has told me to show you the treaties that we are about to sign with England and France."

Anna's eyes widened in surprise."Are you sure of that?" She couldn't help asking.

Kai smiled."Of course I'm. And she also wants to know if you would like to have breakfast with her." Kai regarded Anna with curiosity, since both sister usually had breakfast together and no questions were needed.

"Of course I will. Where is Elsa?"

"She is busy. I don't know why, but we are putting all the meetings of this morning off" Kai sighed. "Now, she is in a meeting with Rolf which couldn't be postponed. She will met you within two hours in the little gazebo."

Anna frowned." Why is Elsa rescheduling her agenda.

"I don't know. She only told me that she expected to be with you for the entire morning."

"With me?" Anna wasn't able to imagine why Elsa wanted to be with her.

"Yes. Do you want to see the treaties before breakfast?"

"Of course I want!"

"I will bring them to the Library."

* * *

Anna entered in the Library, the pale beams of the morning sun entered through the huge paneled windows. She remembered the last night the clash between Allan and Erick, the hard conversation with Allan and the quarrel with Elsa. Now that she and Kristoff would be together, everything seemed to be insignificant.

"Now, I'm Anna Bjorgman and you don't afraid me." Anna said in loud voice as if she was talking to everybody involved in the last night events. In that moment, there was a knock in the door and Kai entered bringing the treaties and putting them on Elsa's desk.

"These are official treaties to be signed with England and France, unless a final amendment is needed. Needless to say, you shouldn't talk about them to anybody."

Anna raised her eyebrows in a mute question.

Kai looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry Princess Anna. The last comment was unnecessary. "

"Don't worry Kai." Anna replied smiling while she sat down at Elsa's desk. She felt really strange on the chair of her sister. "Thank you."

Kai nodded and left Anna alone. She started to read the treaties which were long, detailed and very boring. Trying to remember her lessons about timber commerce, she studied them for longer than an hour until she surrendered. She couldn't imagine why Elsa had made them specially the detail of the French frigate. Both were typical commerce treaties according to Anna's knowledge. Its only particularity was their long duration of ten years. The Princess leaned back on the chair and thoughtfully looked at the ceiling.

Anna disappointedly sighed when she realized that it wasn't to be so easy. She leaned her elbows on the table and put her head between her hands. She had started to read again the characteristics of the frigate that Arendelle would receive from France when she noticed the book at one corner of the desk.

It was the book that Elsa had been reading the last night when Anna interrupted her. Anna remembered how quickly Elsa had closed it. "She was hiding something." Anna said to herself as she took the book. It was a summary of the laws regarding to the crown of Arendelle. Anna sighed, it seemed even more boring than the treaties. Anyway she started to go through the book until she found what she expected. A sheet of light blue paper, almost white, with the snow flake emblem inside the book. Elsa used to mark the interesting pages of her books with a sheet of her own notepaper.

Anna started to read the book in the point she had found the sheet. It was a detailed explanation of the legal measures established when a King of Arendelle went crazy. "Is Elsa planning to simulate madness?" Anna thought in utterly surprise. After reading with attention the long and boring laws which had been necessary to remove the power from the hands of the crazy King, Anna went on with the rest of the book, looking for more light blue sheets. She found two more. One was placed in the abdication decree of another Anna's ancestor, an old King who wanted to retire. The other talked about the establishment of a council of regency during the minority of a Queen.

Anna was confused. "Maybe she was reading the book just for pleasure. Elsa liked reading about Arendelle history." Anna thought, but Elsa had closed the book in such a way that suggested something different.

She was still trying to find out something when there was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Anna said while she quickly placed the book in its former place.

"Queen Elsa is waiting for you to have the breakfast." Kai said peering through the door.

"Great! I'm hungry." Anna suddenly realized that she had already spent two hours and bolted through the door towards the little gazebo.

* * *

Elsa was already sitting in one of the benches of the little construction which was half covered with ivy reading a document. Anna went through the narrow path until she reached the stairs of the gazebo.

When Elsa saw Anna, the right corner of her mouth quirked upward for a second like a smile she was trying to disguise. "Have you read the treaties? " Elsa asked kindly.

"Yes, But I haven't found what I'm looking for." Anna replied as she sat down facing her elder sister.

"What do you mean? Doesn't Kai brought you both treaties?" Elsa asked leaving the document he had been reading in a leather briefcase on one of the benches.

"They are common commercial treaties. I have read them a couple of times, but I can't see how they are going to solve our problems. Why do you let me read them?"

"You would have investigated trying to obtain the contents of the treaties. I prefer that you read the real ones instead of being informed by any unreliable person like Allan."

"But you aren't going to explain your plans to me."

"As I told you, If I explained my plans, they would be ruined." Elsa's voice was firm, but the Queen of Arendelle had a broad smile and gazed at her sister with a mischievous expression.

"You should trust me!" Anna said unsuccessfully trying to seem angry.

"I trust you and you will see that I have very god reasons to act in this way. "

"You know that I will discover your intentions."

"I'm sure that you will try."

In that moment, Gerda entered in the gazebo bringing a try with bowls, cutlery, toasts and sliced fruit. She placed it over the little table between both sisters. "I will bring the chocolate right now." The woman said before returning through the narrow path.

"Chocolate!" Anna exclaimed agreeably surprised. "But today isn't Sunday. Why have you ordered Gerda to serve it?"

Elsa mischievously smiled. "I supposed that you would need it to recover your energy after a busy night."

Anna felt her cheeks flushing. "How do you know it?"

"Well, Our rooms are right next to each other and we placed our beds a year ago by the same wall, so we can communicate softly knocking on the wall. Do you remember?" Elsa answered with a teasing tone of voice as she gestured with her hand as if she knocked on a wall.

Anna gulped. "I am sorry. We didn't mean to be so noisy."

"Well, I'm not an expert in those issues, but I suppose that you weren't specially noisy. I didn't hear you while I was in my room working in the desk and I'm sure that nobody would have heard you in the corridor. But, when I laid on my bed, my head was very near to yours..."

It was obvious that the Queen of Arendelle hardly managed to refrain from laughing, but her younger sister was too embarrassed to realize it. "And you hear us all the time!" Anna exclaimed.

"Of course not!"Elsa replied. "I returned to my desk and you regained your privacy. I advanced some work until I my bed was silent again. I have to say that I did a lot of work before that." Elsa lowered her eyes trying to conceal her amusement due to Anna's expression.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think that our beds were too close."

"I suppose that you were busy enough caring about what was happening in your bed." Elsa said giving a little laugh.

Anna of Arendelle, also know as Anna Bjorgman, first in the line of succession to the Arendelle throne fruitlessly tried to find something to say. "It won't happen again." She finally uttered.

"Of course not!" Elsa replied. "I have already ordered the attendants to change the place of my bed. I have told them that I prefer to be by the window to enjoy of better views when I wake up." Elsa looked at Anna and burst out laughing. "You should see your own face! "Elsa said, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

"Aren't you angry?" Anna asked shyly.

"Why should I be angry?" Elsa laughed.

"Well, this is not what our parents taught us."

Elsa though for a second before replying. " Our parents never talked about us being auctioned like mares. I suppose that we should improvise our own rules." Elsa looked thoughtfully at Anna before going on."Was it a farewell?" Elsa asked. Her jocular mood had disappeared and she eagerly waited for her sister's response.

"No!" Anna replied shaking her head. "It was a kind of secret marriage."

A radiant smile appeared on Elsa face. Since the great thaw, Anna hadn't seen Elsa smile like that. "Great! I'm so happy for both of you!" Elsa exclaimed taking Anna's hands between hers.

Both sister remained in silent until Elsa broke the silence. "We have to celebrate it! I have cleared the morning of all the meetings I had."

"Have you postponed your engagements for me?" Anna looked delighted at her elder sister.

"Of course I have; one does not usually have the opportunity to celebrate her sister marriage. Even if it is a secret marriage." Elsa said with a pleased smile. "I have left just one official issue this morning, but we will do it together and you are going to enjoy it."

"Are you sure? What kind of official issue is it?" Anna replied warily smiling.

"I will tell you later."Elsa mysteriously said. "First, you have to explain all the details of the last night to me."

"It's private." Anna replied as he simulate taking offense at Elsa's words.

"Come oooooon!" Elsa said simulating the voice of a little girl and shaking Anna's arm. "I only want the decent details, since I already had to heard the indecent ones."

When Gerda returned with the chocolate, They were laughing and joking and hardly controlled themselves until the woman put the hot chocolate over the table and left them alone again.

Gerda returned through the narrow path with a smile on her face which disappeared when she saw an annoyed Kai approaching. "What happens?" She asked.

"Ladislas Kosztkapapp, the imperial delegate, wants an audience with Elsa as soon as possible. It seems that Duke Adrian has another stupid request.

Gerda looked at the half ivy-covered gazebo with sadness. "Is It really necessary?"

"What do you mean? Of course it is necessary, or else I haven't come." Kai replied in surprise.

"Look at them." Gerda said gazing towards both sisters under the gazebo. Sitting next to each other, Elsa and Anna talked in a lively way with her heads almost touching. The discretion of their confidences was occasionally broke by a burst of laughter during which both sisters leaned one against the other as if they were about to fall. "I haven't seem them so happy for months. As I served the chocolate, Elsa even made that half smile she always did when she was a little girl and was hiding something to the older people."

Kai gazed at both sisters. "They aren't little girls anymore, they are already full-grown women, the Queen and the Princess of Arendelle." He replied doubtfully.

Gerda pleadingly looked at Kai."Let them enjoy the moment. They will have time enough to worry about the problems to come."

Kai sighed. "l suppose that the Imperial delegate could wait until the evening." The seneschal finally said while he tried to imagine an excuse to appease the Imperial.

* * *

The ship was an Arendelle's freighter, a medium size vessel used to load timber from Arendelle and return with food and other goods, although, today, it was going to bring a lighter load.

"Elias, I hope you have a safe and pleasant trip home." Elsa said standing in the pier with Anna at her side. Pedro and Elias were in front of them about to board the ship that will bring them to a harbor in the Cantabrian sea.

Elias seemed angry. "I don't want to depart. I like to be here with you! Why can't I marry you?"

Elsa smiled as she took Elias hand. "My dear Elias, I'm also sad to be parted from you." Elsa said realizing that she was going to miss the young Spaniard.

"It's a pity that we can't marry. I would like to marry with you. Maybe the next time!" Elias said.

"Yes, the next time." Elsa replied thinking that Elias wasn't the worst suitor she had. "If I had to marry Duke Adrian Simonyi, I would regret your departure, but in this moment Arendelle isn't a place for you." Elsa thought as she softly kissed Elias cheek.

After Anna had said her farewells to Elias, Pedro left the young Spaniard in the care of a servant and come closer to Elsa.

"Queen Elsa, May I privately talk with you a minute?" The tall lancer asked.

"Whatever you want to tell me, my sister can hear it."

Pedro give a long gaze to Anna before speaking. "Mullon is planing a meeting with Halkett. They want to reach a final settlement for the conference."

Elsa's eyes widened. "How do you know that?"

"Mullon always forget that I can speak his language." Pedro replied wryly smiling.

"Do you know what suitors they are going to give support."

"I have heard that Mullon is going to give support to both Imperial candidates." Pedro replied.

"Why do you tell us this?" Elsa asked.

"Maybe because you have taken care of with Elias when you had a lot of reasons to hate him or because I profoundly dislike Mullon. He always regrets everything, but he always uses everything to his own advantage." Pedro said shrugging.

In that moment, Pedro noticed that Madam Gonzaga was coming. "I have to leave you. Good luck Queen Elsa!" Pedro bowed and boarded the ship.

Both sisters turned to see how Madam Gonzaga, after a cold farewell with Mullon, was calmly coming closer to the ship. She gave a cold glance to both of them. "Queen Elsa." She said slightly bowing.

"She is proud. I grant her that."Elsa thought. "Hopefully, I will be able to maintain my composure if I have to board a ship to a distant country in the days to come." Suddenly, she pictured herself leaving Arendelle for a distant country and Anna standing in the pier seeing her off. It hit her like a blow. She realized how hard would be to leave Anna and Arendelle.

"You may believe that you have won, but this is a petty triumph as you will discover early." Elisa Gonzaga's voice was cold as ice and her upper lip was curled in disdain.

"Madam Gonzaga. I hope you and your son a safe return trip." Elsa politely replied.

"Save your hypocrisies. You have expelled my son from Arendelle because you dislike him. " Elisa Gonzaga took a deep breath gazing at Elsa's eyes before went on. "You are a fool! He is a Grandee of Spain. You could have got privileges and riches far beyond your imagination and the possibilities of your petty Kingdom, but you mess it up by such a little detail as his intelligence. But all your efforts will be useless."

"Maybe, maybe not. We will know it at the end of the Conference." Elsa calmly replied.

"Do you believe that you are going to get a far better husband." Elisa replied, his voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Do you still believe in charming Princess? Your maneuvers are only worsening your situation. You are discarding the great nobles and, at the end, you will be married to any petty and unknown European noble and you will fade in your husband's miserable and remote land."

Elsa sighed. "Is this the result of being exiled in an undesired marriage or was she so wicked from the start?" Elsa said to herself. She couldn't help fearing that she would become as Elisa after spending half of her life with an undesired man.

Elsa was going to put an end to such a useless conversation, but Anna interrupted them. "Elias need a mother not a wife and isn't Elsa's obligation to be his mother!"

Elisa d'Arbanville had just ignored the young Princess, but now she looked daggers at Anna. But Anna's was so indignant at Elisa's words that she stared back at her. "And my sister will never fade for me, no matter how far away she goes." The eyes of the young Princess gleamed with fury.

"Do you think that she is helping you?" Elisa d'Arbanville replied. "Have you thought that she hasn't even tried to reject any of your suitors?"

"I have already heard that and didn't believed it the first time." Anna replied in anger due to Elisa's below-the-belt blow against her sister. "Because my sister is not like you!" Anna finally added glaring defiance at her.

Elisa was going to reply, but Elsa interrupted her. "Your ship is about to depart." The Queen of Arendelle calmly said as if she was in a friendly conversation, but her eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

Elisa looked speechless at both sisters for a long while before turning and boarding the ship.

Both sister beheld in silence the departure of the ship.

"You had really showed off your mastery of tact and grace." Elsa said.

"Are you angry?" Anna warily asked.

"No. In fact, I'm glad to have a sister like you." Elsa answered. The comment brought a smile to Anna's face.

Despite her merry words, Elsa felt heavy-hearted due to Elisa's words about fading in a remote country. She gazed at Anna who was in that moment waving at Elias who was in the bridge of the ship. "At least she would have Kristoff at her side and nobody is planning to move her away from Arendelle". Elsa thought.

"Why are you looking at me in such a way?" Anna suddenly asked when she caught a glimpse of her sister expression.

"What do you mean?" Elsa replied realizing that Anna had caught her.

"You gazed at me in a strange way. You smiled softly, but you looked very sad." Anna said frowning. "Are you worried by Pedro's words? What will the Englishman and the French decide? About you and me I mean."

"What suits them best. You can be sure of that." Elsa replied.

"And what can we..." Anna started to say.

"Stop!" Elsa interrupted Anna." I'm your Queen and the Queen of snow and ice and I command you to change the issue." Elsa said lifting her arms and standing in a theatrical pose.

Anna laughed at her sister's posture. "And what am I supposed to do my Queen?" Anna replied in an also exaggerated tone of voice.

"Let's get our horses and leave Arendelle for some hours. I want to have a long stroll with you."

* * *

Anna and Elsa mounted their horses, which they have left in Arendelle's main square, and left for the woods near the new harbor. No encampment had been placed there in order to keep away the members of the delegations from there, so they enjoyed a few hours riding alone.

Anna had a lot of things to explain about her and Kristoff and Elsa wanted to hear them. So both sister wandered through the woods until they reached a place from which they saw a part of the fjord free of ships. They laid on the grass enjoying the sun and the beautiful view while they imagined that no conference was being held in Arendelle and then they chatted about how they were going to improve Arendelle in the years to come.

After a long talk, they realized that it was lunch time and they went to pay a visit to Corrado in the new harbor. The old Italian was a good conversationalist and Anna loved his stories about far away lands. They arrived at the new harbor and went closer to a two story wooden house which was Corrado headquarters when he was working in the harbor.

The old Italian was arguing with the man responsible for providing timber to the works. At Corrado's side, a gaunt and pale faced man was translating the Italian's words from French to Norwegian, since he didn't spoke a single word of that language.

"Queen Elsa! How lucky I'm to see you." Corrado said in French, with his usual thick Italian accent, when he saw both sisters."We need you to ..."

"After the lunch, I will be at your disposal for whatever you may need." Elsa interrupted broadly smiling. "But, now, we are in a kind of celebration. Would you lunch with us? I asked Gerda to send a basket with food from the castle."

"A boy brought it an hour ago. It is in my office, I'll get it."

After Corrado returned with the basket, they left the new harbor and started to climb up the hill on which top lied Corrado's house. They stopped one hundred meters before the house in a beautiful promontory from which they were able to see the entire fiord, although they also saw the ships of the delegations. Corrado explained stories about the lands he had seen and, at the request of Anna, he explained his experiences in the Plains.

"And when did you know Erick?" Asked Elsa at the end of one of Corrado's stories."

"During a siege, he had been trapped with his squadron due to a stupid order and, when I met him, he was raging at the entire world. He was a young Captain and he had been assigned to protect my men in the works of defense. Initially, I feared that he would be useless in a siege and his men hated being used as infantry. But at the end he keep his men under control and quickly adapted to fight in a siege. "

"And you get also a good chess player to play with." Elsa said raising her eyebrows.

"That's right. But he would be a far better chess player, if he planned a strategy instead of just reacting. I would like to see both of you playing a chess game. Your styles are utterly different, although I'm sure that you would win."

"Now, it's a good moment. Elsa could play him at chess." Anna said. "Do you know where is Erick?"

"He is helping in the birth of a colt."

"What!" Both sister exclaimed in surprise."

"At four o'clock in the morning, a boy of the farm in which we have all the horses we use in the construction of the harbor came to warn him that a mare had started to foal and there were some problems."

Both sisters looked at Corrado. "Why the boy came to warn him?" Elsa finally asked.

"He is very interested in the Fjord breed which we use and asked to be warned when the mare would be about to foal. He like horses and is really good with them. His father, an Italian Count, bred horses and Erick learned a lot with him. In fact, the horse he rides comes from his father's farm. Both of them helped it to be foaled ten years ago few months before the death of the Count."

"And had he left his bed just to see how a colt foals? He is really interested." Anna said.

"I'm sure that he hasn't just been an onlooker and has helped as I told you he is skilled in horse breeding and anything related with horses."

"Well." Elsa said. "It's a pity that we can't play a chess game."

"Maybe he had already returned. I'll go to my house to get the chess set. If he hadn't returned, we could play a game.

Corrado took his cane and started to raise, but Elsa was quicker and jumped to her feet. "Don't worry Corrado I will get the board." The young Queen of Arendelle said while she started to walk towards the house at the top of the hill.

The sun was bright and warm and Elsa enjoyed climbing the gentle slope of the hill. She reached in a few minutes the house and get closer to the door. Corrado's home was in darkness. Somebody had shut the windows and the light in the room was dim. Elsa stood in the threshold while her eyes gradually become accustomed to the darkness. When Elsa was able to see in the dim light, she looked for the chess board, but a beam of light, which entered through the shutters of a window, engaged her attention. Behind the shaft of sunlight he hardly was able to make out a dark shadow lying on an armchair. She screwed up her eyes, trying to peer through the blinding glare.

Elsa approached and saw that Erick had returned before and was sleeping on the armchair. She contemplated the young hussar for a while. "It's strange" She thought "I have never been Erick so relaxed, he is always tense, ready to jump physically or mentally. But now he is relaxed and his face has a serenity strange in him." He didn't even wore his usual black jacket and just wore a white shirt.

Elsa get closer to the armchair, inadvertently entering under the sun beam. After helping in the born of the colt, Erick had washed before returning to Corrado's home and his hair was still wet. The young Queen saw something strange in Erick's head and bent over the young hussar trying to see. In that moment, Erick took a deep breath and Elsa managed to glimpse a great scar in Erick's right temple which usually was hidden by his long hair and now was visible because it was wet. Elsa gasped with surprise at the sight of the terrible wound.

Erick instantly opened his eyes and looked around him ready to jump, his right hand raised towards the hilt of his saber, which was leaned against the armchair. But, when he saw Elsa, he relaxed again and gazed smiling at her. Elsa's long hair caught the light of the shaft of light and shimmered in the dim light of the room. Her long blond braid hanged from her shoulder gleaming like a cold flame made of ice.

"I am sorry to disturb you. I was looking for Corrados's chess board. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"Don't worry. In fact, it seems to me that I'm still dreaming." He said gazing at Elsa.

Has everything gone well with the colt?" Asked Elsa.

"Yes, You have a new subject which is learning how to run across the fields by its mother. I returned at about eleven o'clock after having a wash and I meant to rest a few minutes, but I nodded off. What time is it?"

"It's past lunch time." Elsa said while she noticed a stalk of straw in Erick's right temple and reached for it without giving it a second thought. But when she took the straw her fingers brushed Erick's forehead.

"Your hands are cold!" He exclaimed in surprise.

Elsa tried to move her hand away, but Erick was quicker and gently took Elsa's hand.

"Yes, you are really cold! Are you all right?" He asked with concern in his voice.

"He thinks I'm sick." Elsa said to herself. She couldn't help feeling sad. "Maybe sick is better than monster."

"Everybody is putting too much pressure on you." Continued Erick "I wouldn't be surprised, if you fell ill." He raised from the armchair and touched Elsa's forehead with two fingers of his left hand. His worried expression changed to alarmed."Elsa you are frozen!"

The situation was awkward and amusing at the same time, but Erick's concern made her to feel a strange tenderness for the young soldier. "It's a collateral effect of my powers. My skin is always cold." She said looking warily at Erick, since she wasn't sure about his reaction.

"I'm sorry. I should have guessed!" Erick said moving his hand away from Elsa's forehead, "The more I know about you, the more you surprise me." He keep holding Elsa's hand although he didn't grasp it and just hold the pale hand on his open palm.

They stood in silent, one in front of the other, for a while until Elsa broke the silence. "Are you going to hold my hand for a long while?" She asked smiling, with a bit of defiance in her voice.

"I'm not grasping it. You could withdraw your hand, if you wanted" Erick brazenly replied.

"I suppose that touching my hand is shocking. The coldness of my skin is not usual." Elsa said trying to make her voice sound unconcerned. "But I don't enjoy being treated like a ..."

"Elsa." Erick said slightly shaking his head. "Your skin is cool not cold and you are too intelligent to believe that the temperature of your skin is what I'm interested in." Saying that, Erick slowly lifted Elsa's hand to his lips and gave it a lingering kiss, always gazing at Elsa's eyes.

Elsa was so surprised that, she didn't react, but finally she suddenly took a step back, moving away her hand. "I... I have to leave." The Queen of Arendelle said as she walked backwards towards the door staring at him. She bumped into a little table and caught it just in time to avoid it falling. Elsa put the table in its former position and followed her way back.

"The chessboard." Erick said standing still by the armchair.

"What?" Elsa replied.

"You were looking for the chess set and you have bumped into it." Erick said pointing at the table Elsa had been about to knock down. The chess set was on it.

"Oh! Thank you." Elsa replied, finally pulling herself together. She took the board and the wooden box containing the pieces still staring at Erick.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to..." Erick started to apologize.

"It doesn't matter, but I have to leave. My sister and Corrado are waiting for me." After interrupting Erick, the Queen of Arendelle hurriedly left the house.

Once alone, Erick slumped into the armchair and sighed heavily.


	31. Choices

Allan Halkett waited in the quarterdeck of his frigate, he was clad in his uncomfortable full-dress uniform like his officers who stand at his side and behind him strictly ordered by rank and seniority. Everybody looked at the approaching boat, but Allan couldn't help to give sidelong peeks at the pier in front of the main square of Arendelle. An Arendelle's freighter was departing, though he wasn't interested in the vessel. Instead, he looked at the pier on which two slender figures were seeing the ship off. In particular, he observed one of them who was waving towards the ship. Even at that great distance, Allan's well trained and sharp eye was able to recognize the Princess Anna of Arendelle.

The Captain gave a snort of disgust. The first lieutenant at his side gave a sidelong peek at his superior officer, fearing that he had detected any minor error in the preparations to receive Lord Halkett and some unspecified dignitaries. "Any problem sir?" He warily asked.

"Everybody ready to receive my uncle." He sternly replied to the officer who confirmed his fears about the unusual bad mood of the Captain. This morning a sailor had got birched due to a tiny detail and Halkett had been specially curt and martinetish.

The boat, carrying Lord Howard Halkett and his secretary, came alongside the frigate and they boarded the ship.

"Captain Halkett." Howard Halkett said, returning the salute of his nephew."

"Admiral of the white squadron Halkett." Allan formally replied before starting with the formalities of an official visit.

"Who and where are the dignitaries that were supposed to come with you?" The Captain asked when the initial formalities with the rest of the frigate officers had been fulfilled and he was apart with his uncle.

"They are Clarence and Ebbe the two northern barons of Arendelle and will come in half an hour. Officially, they come just to see a royal navy frigate and I will met them by chance. Clarence seemed willing to tell me something yesterday, but he didn't dare and I want to see if he is more willing out of Arendelle"

"And we are doing this ceremony for two petty Lords from a petty Kingdom." Allan said in disdain. He had expected to receive somebody really important.

"We are going to grease the gears of the English diplomacy. Sometimes the little gears are as important as the great ones if they are in the right place and moment." Lord Howard Halkett enigmatically replied.

Allan knew that his uncle wouldn't say anymore, he was quite reserved regarding his diplomatic duties, so the Captain decided to change the subject of the conversation. "Uncle Howard, I would like to have a private talk with you."

Howard Halkett gave a surprised glance at his nephew before turning, with a look of annoyance, towards the pier from which the Arendelle Barons would come.

"It's important." Allan added.

Howard sighed. "Crawford, warn me when the Barons were about to arrive." He said to his personal secretary before nodding to Allan.

Allan took his uncle to his cabin, which was under the quarterdeck, and, once inside, poured two glasses of port wine.

"And what is so important to interrupt an official reception my dear nephew?" Howard asked after sipping his glass.

Allan took a deep breath before speaking. He knew that It was madness, but Anna's slender figure on the pier still lingered on his mind. "I want to be the official English candidate to Princess Anna's hand and I want to be the chosen one."

Howard thoughtfully stared at Allan for a long while before talking. "Tell me that you are just joking." He said in a tone of voice that sounded like an order.

"I'm not joking and I have to warn you that Anna is in love with me and she is willing to flee with me." Allan had planned to get Anna's acquiescence to his plans in order to lean on his uncle. But now, he would lie, if there wasn't another way.

"Allan have you taken into account what would happen to your career if you got married with such a woman?"

"Uncle Collin also married a woman against his father's will and he has done a brilliant career in the army. He is Colonel of the Coldstream Guards. More than he deserves!" Alan have never had a very good opinion of his uncle or his plain wife, the daughter of a Baronet from Devonshire, who was despised by all the family."

"If you believe that then you are a fool!"

Allan was surprised by Howard's reaction. Uncle Collin had always been the black sheep of the family. Allan's father always talked about him in disdain and he was always excluded from the family gatherings, though he was Colonel of one of the most prestigious regiment of the English army. In fact, it had been a surprise that Collin had been included in the diplomatic mission.

While Allan was speechless, her uncle went on. "After the war against France your uncle had one of the most promising careers in the British army. Even Wellington praised your uncle for his behavior in Waterloo. Our father, your grandfather, had great plans for him. He was supposed to marry a woman who came from a good family which had contacts in the British army and navy. With our contacts, the contacts of his wife and his own abilities, he would have been able to reach high positions in the army. But he was in love with another woman."

"Are you talking about aunt Margaret? Allan asked gaping at his uncle. He couldn't believe that somebody could fought against his own family for such a woman.

"Yes. After hard and sour discussions our father withdrew his support to Collins career and he married her. My father didn't waste energy, contacts and favors for a horse with a broken leg and I had to carry on your uncle's responsibilities."

Allan wondered if that responsibilities included to get married with the woman who was supposed to marry with uncle Collin, but he didn't dare to ask."But he was transferred to the Cold streams." He finally said.

"It has been granted to him before he fell out with the family . It was supposed to be his first step towards the position of Commander-in-chief of the forces, not her final grave. My father wanted to take it from him, but it would have been a great scandal. Anyway he hasn't promoted a single step since then and he won't promote. He could be one of England's great strategists serving his country, but he spoiled everything."

They remained in silence for a long while. Allan tried to say something, but his uncle interrupted him. "I tell you this to make clear your position. Your father had plans for you, plans which don't include Princess Anna."

"Plans?" Allan hesitated before going on. "What kind of plans? Marriage plans?"

"Of course! We are talking about a wife who will be a help not a problem like Anna."

"Anna isn't a problem. She isn't like aunt Margaret! She is a Princess!"

Lord Halkett gazed at his nephew."And what contacts in the royal navy had your Princess? Let alone the damage that getting married with a woman of dubious morality would inflict to your reputation."

"Don't talk about her like this!"

"How am I to talk about her? The coronation day of her elder sister, she publicly asked permission to marry Prince Hans of the Southern isles, though she had met him that very day, and, the day after, she was with that ice seller, a low-born man. Her elder sister opened her castle doors the coronation day, but Anna rather opened her legs. How would London's high society talk about her? But don't worry about what they would say, If you got married with her, you would remain for a long time in your assignment in Asia. Maybe the rest of your life."

"Uncle Howard, I love her!" Allan exclaimed.

Howard shrugged. "And you will sacrifice your prospects for her? Allan you are one of the youngest frigate Captains of the royal navy. You are an outstanding sailor and a gifted commander, but you wouldn't have got this ship without your family behind you. You could reach the top in you career, don't spoil everything just by her. "

Alan knew that everything was useless. Anna had rejected him and his uncle wouldn't help him. "So I have to choose." He asked trying to put a high price to his defeat, but there was a lack of conviction in his voice."

"You can't serve two lords at the same time. You could do great things for your country or share Collin's fate. You decide." Howard said looking eagerly at him.

Allan lowered his eyes, giving up."I suppose that you are right uncle Howard."

"Well, you have been wiser than your uncle Collin."

"If he is so unreliable why do you brought him to Arendelle?"

"I have been forced to accept him. We have enemies in the parliament and they have saddled me with his presence. He is supposed to control me."

"What?"

"Yes. He had been always very friendly with some kind of politicians. But don't care about him. We have more important things to do like negotiating with the French delegate."

"What do you mean?" Allan asked with sudden interest and surprised by the unusual confidence of his uncle.

Howard smiled inwardly, he had supposed that involving Allan in the diplomatic details could keep away his mind from the Norwegian Princess. "We have to reach a final agreement to settle the Arendelle issue."

"But I supposed that England would impose the final decision. We are strong enough to force the others to accept our designs."

"Yes but that will be an unstable agreement. France would defy us when they felt strong enough and this is an issue too delicate. If we get a final agreement the power of both countries will be behind it and it will endure."

"And England is going to give in?"

"Of course not! We will get the lion's share. Our candidate will marry Queen Elsa, so we ensure that she is far away and the control of the country to a degree. The French candidate will marry Princess Anna and he will ensure a good provision of timber for France to a degree."

"But Queen Elsa is trying to reach an agreement with the French. Could she harm our prospects?"

"Queen Elsa is like a child playing with fire. She had got rid of two unpleasant candidates, according to her feminine taste, an old man and a retarded without caring for her country or her sister." Lord Halkett shook her head. "In fact, both sister's behavior is an unedifying spectacle. Arendelle would benefit of the conference, since it will provide good rulers to this country and will ensure the security of England.

"Let alone that, thanks to the commercial treaty with Arendelle, you will get richer." Allan couldn't help saying. He hadn't never dare to talk in such a way to his uncle, but he felt that, from now, he somewhat had the right to do so.

Howard gazed at Allan for a long while before replying. "Why wouldn't a humble servant of England, providing that our country's interests are preserved, be able to benefit from a good opportunity"

In that moment, there was a knock in the door. Allan's first lieutenant informed that a boat had departed from Arendelle and was heading towards the ship and Allan was needed in the quarterdeck.

"With your permission, I will finish my port before going up." Howard said to his nephew.

"I will see you in the quarterdeck." Alan said leaving the cabin.

Once alone, Lord Howard Halkett leaned back in the chair and breathed a sigh of relief. He had avoided disaster by the skin of his teeth, but Allan was young and could change his mind. He decided that his nephew will be his adjutant until the end of the conference. So he could keep a sharp eye on him and the Captain will also be busy with the details of the negotiations. Besides, He would be less willing to spoil his career, if he had a taste of the inherent power of a high representative of the British Empire.

Now, the veteran diplomat tried to concentrate in the meeting to come, Clarence was a clever man, but he couldn't help imagining Allan's father reaction if his son had fled with that little Norwegian whore. "He wouldn't have been gentle." He said to himself, trembling at the mere thought of his family anger.

* * *

Allan was showing the frigate to the Arendelle Barons. Both were politely interested in his explanations and Clarence, according to his questions, even had a thorough nautical knowledge.

Now, they were in the quarterdeck, from which the frigate was commanded, and Allan concluded his explanation about the frigate.

"Thank you for your interesting description of the frigate." Ebbe panted as he dried the sweat on his bald head with a handkerchief, although Allan hadn't been able to detect the slightest hint of interest in his square face during the explanation.

"Yes. We don't have nothing like that in Arendelle." Clarence added with real or very well simulated interest. He was thinner and more athletic than his bulky and fat cousin, therefore the tour of the frigate hadn't tired him out.

"Well, the harbor will be remarkable when finished." Allan sincerely replied. "I have seen many harbors and Arendelle's new harbor will be one of the finest."

"We just want to talk about it." Clarence added meaningfully looking at Lord Halkett who had joined them in the quarterdeck.

"Yes." The diplomat replied. "You told me yesterday that you wanted to talk with me in private. This is a perfect opportunity and you can talk in front of my nephew as if you were talking with me."

If the Baron was upset by Allan's presence, he concealed it. "We are really glad of England's intervention in the conference. Arendelle was in a sad situation due to Queen Elsa's good-willing but erroneous decisions."

"England is always pleased to help her loyal allies." Allan's uncle replied.

"Yes. It's a pity that the final decision of the conference will be too late for that monster." The Baron said nodding towards the new harbor. "Arendelle has buried a lot of resources to build that useless behemoth. "

"But it will help to improve Arendelle's commerce."Allan replied.

Clarence looked at him as if he had said something well-meant but useless. "Arendelle can't produce timber enough to use this monster to its full capacity. The fjord has very bad communications with the timber valleys and a limited amount of timber can be transported to Arendelle every year."

"It has been devised to control our timber." Ebbe added.

Allan understood that the Barons feared that Elsa's intentions were to centralize all the timber commerce of Arendelle in that harbor including the timber of the fjords belonging to the Barons. That would undermine the Baron's economic power and improve the power of the crown. With good reason they hatred the harbor, it could mean his final as independent force in Arendelle.

Allan's uncle nodded. "I see." He said in a neutral tone of voice.

"Furthermore, she had also allowed bourgeois to get a share in the harbor. Men of low origin whose only merit is to have money. " Ebbe added in indignant anger.

"But I guess they have paid for their shares, haven't them? Allan asked

"Of course they have paid! But this isn't the point. Ebbe said in a conspiratorial tone of voice. "She is influenced by the ideas of the French revolution, she believes that personal merits are more important than noble blood. Europe is infested with those revolutionaries and we have one of them seated in Arendelle's throne!" After saying that, Ebbe stared at them, apparently waiting for a reply before went on. "According to her ideas about merit, she chose a foreigner to be her royal architect. The charge should have been for a nobleman from Arendelle!"

"Are there any nobleman in Arendelle capable of building that?" Alan asked pointing to the harbor.

"The holder of the title would have hired an engineer to do the dirty work." Ebbe replied as if the answer was obvious.

"But the issue of Elsa's poor governance, though important as my dear friend have explained in detail, isn't the only problem. We have also the problem of her powers." Clarence interrupted.

"Yesterday you told me something about that." Howard said.

"Yes. She almost froze the entire Kingdom a year ago. Why couldn't it happen again?" Clarence went on.

"I understand you. England is also taking into account the powers of the young Queen." Howard friendly replied.

"The people of Arendelle live under the constant menace of her Queen's powers. And her powers also pose a religious problem."

"I don't understand you." Lord Halkett replied with interest.

"Bishop Bodo believes that Elsa's powers could have a dark origin."

"What kind of origin?"

Clarence shrugged. "Witchcraft, faeries or the devil he is not sure. Who cares? The point is that now everything is calm, but it could exploit at any time and the key is Bishop Bodo. " Clarence said.

"And is Bishop Bodo bold enough to act if the need arise? " Howard replied.

"He had a great influence over the people of Arendelle. This winter the weather was harsh and some people believed that it was due to Queen Elsa's powers. Bodo, driven by his religious zeal, would have been able to raise the people of Arendelle against their Queen and I have to use all my influence to stop him."

"Oh! How lucky that you were able to control that!." Lord Howard Halkett replied, looking with great interest to the Arendelle's Baron.

* * *

Both Barons had already left the frigate, Allan and his uncle were having their lunch in the Captain's cabin. "But uncle, why they said all that nonsense about Queen Elsa being influenced by French revolutionary ideas. After the war with the French many Kings of Europe are doing the same and some of them are our allies!" Allan said.

"Ebbe is a fool who yearns for the ancient regime, but don't let yourself be taken in. They only worry about keeping their power. If the Queen had given the title of engineer or a greater share of the new harbor to other noble family, they would be also against her. The other external Barons are important, but the northern ones have become a real power in Arendelle and they want to maintain things as they are."

Allan seemed unconvinced. "Anyway, I don't understand why you are so kind with them. They may be important in Arendelle, but Arendelle is just a petty Kingdom. Even Queen Elsa is of no importance in the conference."

"That's right, but I'm already thinking in the aftermath of the conference. Elsa will be far away and Arendelle day-to-day management will be controlled by a French puppet married with Anna. They could be a very useful contact if the need arise.

"And would they dare to confront the French puppet without English support?"

"If we have to intervene in Arendelle, a local support would be invaluable. But I'm specially interested in what he said about controlling Queen Elsa."

"Had he said anything about controlling Queen Elsa?"

"You hadn't heard what Clarence had told about Bishop Bodo. It has been the only interesting point in all the conversation and I have to recognize that he had put it forward skillfully."

"You are talking about that prattle about Bishop Bobo."

"It was not prattle. It was a concealed offer."

"What kind of offer?"

"Clarence was saying us that Bishop Bodo could raise Arendelle's people against her Queen and was willing to do so. He controlled the Bishop avoiding the uprising. But if he can control the Bishop he could also refrain from controlling him."

"Are you suggesting that he could use the Bishop to incite Arendelle's people to rise against Elsa? Are you really going to use such methods?"

"Hopefully, it will not be necessary. I and Mullon will reach a satisfactory agreement and everything will be solved in peace for the good of all. But it Is always good to have a second option. That solution will be cheaper than a military blockade against Arendelle and it would put a definitive end to the problem posed by Elsa's powers. The diplomat didn't say that such option could also be useful against the French puppet who controlled Anna, but he didn't want to worry Allan about Anna's security.

"And would you let a Queen be killed by a mob?" Allan asked in disbelief.

"For the sake of England? Of course!"

"And for the money you will get from the treaty with Arendelle." Alan said as he smiled, but he had a coldness in his eyes which surprised his uncle. They remained in silence in the cabin flooded by the bright light of the midday sun.


	32. A Surprising Warehouse

It had been a fine and clear day; nevertheless, at the evening, the clouds had started to appear in the twilight sky from the south. Few hours later, dark clouds occupied almost the entire sky and gathered around the full moon, although it was still visible and provided light enough to move in the forest.

Erick had been walking through the trees, under the diminishing moonlight, until he reached the fjord shoreline. He hesitated at the water's edge as if he was able to walk over it, but finally he sat by the water and looked at the center of the fjord. The bank at his left blocked the light from the castle and the village. Both were brightly illuminated by the light of the ball in the castle and the party in the village. But there, behind the bank, he only visible lights were the lamps of the ships anchored in the dark waters.

Erick had decided not to attend to the ball in the castle. Instead, he had put his most worn uniform on and had gone to the forests that surrounded the new harbor. He wasn't in the mood to bear the situation in the castle. Under the moonlight it was easy to imagine that he was walking through the great forests of the northern limits of the Plains spying the movements of the Lithuanian army and the fjord looked similar to one of the great rivers that crossed the plains.

He raised his eyes and looked at the moon. The cloud cover was getting thicker by the minute and the moon was barely visible through a breach. The moonlight illuminated the clouds around the gap and they looked as a blonde almost white hair gleaming with the beams of the sun.

"I don't know what I was thinking! I wasn't thinking. That's the problem. I just reacted when I see her in front of me under the sun beam in the middle of the darkness." Erick thought, taking a deep breath when he remembered Elsa under the light. "She is a Queen and is going to marry one of the mightier Lords of Europe. She don't need a petty Italian Count around her, let alone her future husband" Erick remembered Elsa's agitated expression when she had left Corrado's home after he had kissed her hand. "Luckily, she is more sensible than me."

Erick throw a stone with a flattened surface and looked it bouncing off the water as if it tried to reach the other side of the fjord. The hussar gazed the waves produced by the stone ruffling the silver reflection of the moon, now just a gleam through the clouds.

"She isn't even my type with her pale skin and those freckles on her face. She is just a girl playing to be a Queen and she will break when things get nastier." Erick pictured Elsa, in the castle's library when they had been playing chess, illuminated by the hearth with a mischievous half smile on his face or brushing a lock of hair off her forehead. "And I don't want to be here when that happens."

Erick decided that, in the morning, he will force Ladislas to send him back to the Plains. "I'm an imperial soldier. I have to return where I belong and leave this faerie Kingdom with its faerie Queen and Princess behind."

In that moment a great cloud pushed by a southerly wind hid the moon and everything went dark. Erick reached for the lamp he had brought with him which was in the ground at his side, but he finally decided to enjoy the darkness around him. The only thing the young hussar was able to see was the light from the ships' lamps in the middle of the fjord. He had the irresistible impulse to enter in the water and try to reach the lights. "So I will get her out of my head." he said to herself.

He quickly removed his clothes and leave them on a great rock by the water with his shako over them. He lit the lamp and placed it on another rock in a position visible from the fjord. It would guide him when he decided to return.

Before entering into the water he hesitated about bearing his knife with him. "I'm not in the Plains."He finally said to himself leaving his saber by the lamp and his knife hidden among his clothes. Although he wasn't in the Plains, a hidden weapon always was useful.

He started to get into the water. "It is not too cold just... cool." He thought. "Like her skin." He said in loud voice. He snorted with desperation before plunging into the water and starting to swim with strong strokes towards the remote lights in front of him. Placed over his clothes, the silver death head of his shako was oriented towards the fjord as if it was following his owner path into the darkness.

* * *

Anna was in the library waiting for Elsa to go to the ball. She was reading the summary of laws trying again to find a clue about Elsa's intentions when her sister entered into the room.

"Are you ready for the..." Elsa stopped talking when she realized what book Anna was reading.

"I wonder why you were reading the fascinating laws which were established during the minority of one of our ancestors." Anna said raising a light blue sheet paper with the snow flake emblem.

Elsa's eyes widened when she recognized her own bookmark, but the young Queen replied quickly. " I was reading those laws because I was planning to write an appendix to the book."

"Why is it necessary to write an appendix to this book?"

"To include the laws which were enacted during my own minority." Elsa replied with a triumphant smile on his face.

"And are you also planning to go mad or retire to a monastery?" Anna replied.

Elsa grimaced when she realized that Anna had seen the other notebook sheets in the book. "Sometimes, I think that I have already gone mad and my live would be easier on a monastery." She replied.

"Are you planning to take my title of Princess away from me?" Anna suddenly asked.

Elsa gazed at Anna in astonishment. "I'm sorry. I'm confused."

"All the sheets marked laws regarding to Kings and Queens who lost or relinquished his powers. The mad King lost his powers, the old one gave them to his heir and the infant Queen temporally transferred her powers to a council of regency. Are you seeking a way to deprive me of my title of Princess? So you could realize your plan and exile me and Kristoff far away of Arendelle."

Elsa smiled amused, looking at her sister in surprise as if she had never expected such a reaction from her."And why have I made both treaties with England and France?"

"I still don't know it. But I'm working on them." Anna replied.

"Then you have to investigate them, they are the key points of my plan."

" But is it right? Are you trying to exile me?" Anna asked, her voice trembling although she tried to conceal it.

Elsa was touched by Anna's fear. "Anna, I will never try to separate you from Arendelle without your permission. You love too much this place. It is part of you."

Anna sighed visibly relieved.

Elsa raised her eyebrows with a mischievous smile on her face." Are you going to spent all the night with those old and dusty books? The ball is about to start." After saying that, Elsa burst out laughing. "I never thought that I would said this to you!" She exclaimed.

"You are right! It isn't usual." Anna laughed raising from the chair. "Let's go. Hopefully, I will dance a waltz with Erick. Have you seen him?"

"No. I don't know where he is." The young Queen replied, stiffening up.

* * *

Erick was floating in the middle of the darkness. He had swum until he was hardly able to see the light of the lamp he had left behind. The lamps of the nearest ships, two Arendelle freighters which waited in front of the new harbor to be unloaded in the morning, were too far and Erick decided to float in the middle of nowhere trying to ignore the lights of the castle that gleamed over the low ice ceilings that covered almost the entire courtyard.

Corrado had told him that the ceilings were supported by a myriad of low columns that formed a forest of stone. According to the Italian engineer, it was the copy of a mosque from a Spanish city called Cordoba. "I suppose she has chosen it for Elias who had departed this morning. Elsa is incredible, she is against the wall, but she still cares for details like this." Erick thought shaking his head.

Erick started to float again face up with his eyes looking at the dark sky when he heard the sound of something hitting the water. He initially supposed that it had been a fish jumping, but he heard the sound again. It was a rhythmical sound that came from the ships.

Erick strained her eyes and saw a dim light in the middle of the water. "What the hell is that." Erick thought quietly swimming towards the light. When he was near enough he could see a great boat manned by twelve men who were rowing towards the new harbor. In the stern of the boat a man held a strange lamp with all his sides but one blocked with shutters and the light from the uncovered side was muted as if something was attenuating the light. The man in the stern maintained the light of the lamp always directed towards the land.

"They should come from the freighters and hide the light they use from the ships in the fjord." Erick thought while he remembered the position of the different vessels in the fjord. The foreigner ships were near the old harbor and Arendelle's freighters were in front of the new one obstructing the line of sight of the sentries in the other ships who, anyway, would be far more interested in the party which was being celebrated in the village than watching the new harbor.

The boat passed by in its way towards the new harbor. In the weak light of the lamp Erick saw that the boat was overloaded, since she sat very deep in the water. Erick started to follow it, but he had to swim slowly in order to avoid being heard and the boat gradually disappeared in the darkness as if it had been just a dream, nevertheless Erick kept swimming. After a long while, Erick was getting tired, but he was near the new harbor which was faintly illuminated by a lamp at the end of each pier. He tried to locate the boat but the harbor seemed abandoned and he wasn't able to locate it nor its crew.

"Where are they?" Erick thought. Then he heard oars behind him. A new boat was coming. "How many boats are traveling between the ships and the harbor tonight?" It was a similar boat with a guide seated in the stern with a lamp which faintly illuminated the men at the rows.

Erick followed the new boat which went straight to one of the illuminated piers and finally disappeared behind it. Erick reached a flight of great stone stairs in the nearest side of the pier and got out of the water. Exhausted, he laid in a stair getting his breath back. When the hussar stopped panting, he went to the top of the pier and crawled towards the other side.

He peeked over the edge and saw that, behind it, there was another parallel dock. Both formed a kind of wide channel which ended in a great warehouse. The warehouse occupied the space among both piers at the end of the channel. It was so close to the channel that its rear wall touched the water.

Erick wasn't able to see any boat. "Where have they hidden? They have entered here!" Erick inwardly said, then he noticed a dim glow coming from the warehouse. But the light didn't come from any window it came from the water in front of it.

Erick decided to wait for the next boat and laid flat over the pier enjoying the rest. He watched the tiny points of light of the freighters' lamps, supposing that the next boat would come from that direction. Suddenly he heard voices talking and the noise of a mechanism. Erick turned to see how a wide section of the warehouse rear wall raised revealing a dimly illuminated inside. The channel between both piers went on into it.

A boat was waiting inside the warehouse and the men started to row. In the travel to the freighters, the guide was in the bow of the boat, so the light was oriented towards the harbor. When they were far enough the mechanism was activated again closing the gap in the warehouse wall.

In a few minutes Erick got into the water and went closer to the rear of the warehouse. The building was just a roof which was supported by the piers and the rear wall hanged from the roof, like a wooden curtain. Its lower edge was one meter under the water.

It was easy for Erick to enter into the warehouse swimming under the wall. When his head emerged, he saw a long room whose floor was the water of the channel. Great rounded ice arches supported a roof of the same material. The wooden building was just a shell to hide the real construction.

"Well, I could tell who is behind this." Erick thought looking at the beautiful ice arches which formed a wide and long barrel vault. At the opposite side of the building, the channel ended in a little stony beach illuminated by a bonfire. Several boats had been beached and Arendelle soldiers were busy unloading them. The cargo was composed of barrels which were small enough to be carried by a man. Muleteers entered through a gate guiding their animals and helped the soldiers to load up the mules with the barrels. Each beast carried two, one at each side and, once loaded, were taken out of the building.

The little stony beach was crammed with soldiers unloading the boats, muleteers trying to maintain their animals calm and occasional crews of boats embarking or disembarking. It was difficult to maintain them organized in so little space. Everybody was tired, the place was very hot due to the bonfire and the air stank with the scent of the dung from the mules, but Corrado was in the middle of this chaos, with the translator at his side, keeping everybody moving. The cloudy night had complicated everything. They didn't have the light of the moon, so they had been forced to use the lamps and that had slowed the unloading of the ships.

Corrado had just returned from a trip into the darkness to the freighters to solve a problem with a derrick in one of them. He had repaired it working in the narrow space of the main deck which wasn't occupied by the stack of boxes that hid the unloading from the foreign ships. When The Italian engineer returned to the buzzing warehouse, he was immediately told that the muleteers weren't able to guide the mules in the darkness. Corrado was about to go out of the warehouse to talk with them when the Captain of the Arendelle guards, a tall man with clever eyes, approached him.

"I have seen something strange in the gate of the channel."

"What?"

"It's like a shadow near one of the ice pillars. I have seen it by chance just one second, but I'm sure that there's something."

"Maybe it's a seal." Corrado replied.

"We have to verify it. "The man said raising the point of a harpoon he hold in his right hand." I'm skilled with it. I could mix with the crew of the next boat and feign to row. If I got near enough I would catch him."

Corrado gazed at the broad and sharp point of the harpoon and slightly shivered imagining the effects of a weapon like this over a person, but he had to protect the unloading. "Good idea. Do it." He said supposing that the shadow was just a shadow or a seal. He was sure that If the Englishmen had discovered that place, they wouldn't have hidden.

The guard nodded and went out of the warehouse to mix with the next crew which was already waiting outside. Corrado went also out and had an angry talk with the responsible of the muleteers. The man argued that it was too difficult to guide the animals in the darkness. At the end both men agreed that they would use lamps once in the forest. There, under the trees, they would be hidden from the people in the ships.

Corrado has just solved the issue of the mules when he heard shouts coming from the warehouse. He bolted into the crammed warehouse and saw one of the boats in the middle of the channel about to go out through the open gate, although its crew wasn't in it but they were swimming in the water trying to catch something.

Corrado saw the Captain of the guard getting out of the water in the stony beach and approached to him. "What have happened?" The Italian asked.

"I almost catch him. He sank when we got closer, anyway I hit him with the harpoon but he is elusive and quick. I and all the crew dived into the water but he escaped. We have to go out and chase him!"

"Are you sure that it was a man? It could have been a seal." Corrado asked.

"He hid when we got closer." The Captain of the guards replied.

"The seals also hide."

"But sir we have to ensure that he isn't a spy."

Corrado hesitated. He feared to be discovered, but it was true that it could be a spy." Well." He said at last. "Take ten of your men and try to catch it. You will wear the special lamps and be careful with the lights."

"Could we remove the ice?" The guard asked taking a lamp from the floor and pointing the non blocked section of the lamp which was covered with a thin sheet of ice that attenuated the light.

"Of course not!" Corrado replied."If any foreigner saw you, Arendelle would be in trouble."

The guard grunted and started to give orders to his men. Two boats were send to go along the shoreline and six men went out of the warehouse to search the harbor.

One hour later the guard returned empty-handed. "Maybe it was just a seal after all." Corrado said.

"I'm sure that he was a man. Maybe we would have to warn the castle." The guard replied visibly annoyed.

"Are you going to wake up the Queen just to say her that you believe somebody was spying us?" Corrado shook his head. "We can inform the Queen tomorrow morning."

After the talk with the guard, Corrado decided to return home. The next day would be a busy one and he had to be wide awake, so he left his translator on charge of the unloading and started the stroll to his house.

He was tired and his right leg ached, but, after the crammed and stinking warehouse, the short walk through the forest was pleasant and relaxing. He climbed the hill, passing by the place he had have lunch that very day with both sisters, and reached his house.

When Corrado entered in his home, he saw that Erick was still awake sitting at the table and studying a chess game which he and Corrado have started that very evening. The engineer noticed that Erick was clad in the uniform he usually wore in combat. After many days seeing him in his full-dress uniforms, the worn and functional uniform gave him an unpleasant look, like a butcher with his working clothes. "Have you gone to the ball with those filthy rags?" Corrado exclaimed.

"I wasn't in the mood to dance." Erick replied raising his eyes from the board.

In that very moment Corrado realized that Erick's forehead was bandaged with a bit of clothing. "How did you get that bandage?" Corrado asked gaping at Erick

"It's a present from your friend in the warehouse, the guard who is devilishly skilled with the harpoon. " Erick replied smiling.

Corrado stared at Erick. "What have you seen?" Corrado sternly asked.

"What are you unloading from those freighters?" Erick replied in the same tone of voice.

"It isn't your business!"

"You are right! It isn't my business, but I'm almost dying of curiosity." Erick replied raising to his feet and striding to the door.

"Where are you going?" Corrado asked.

"To the new harbor. Before, I was wet and naked. I wasn't able to stay too much, but I'm sure that I will get a lot of responses if I return now."

"Queen Elsa forbids you to return to that place."

"And what would Queen Elsa do? Will she raise a diplomatic complain? I'm sure that the delegates will carefully listen to her explanations about why I have to leave Arendelle. I'm sure that Lord Halkett would be specially fascinated." Erick laughed as he opened the door.

"Wait!" Corrado shouted.

Erick turned and gazed at his friend in a mute question.

"If I explain to you what I know, will you be discrete?" Corrado finally asked giving up.

Erick closed the door. "What's in the barrels?"

"Food." Corrado replied.

"What?"

"One of the weak points of Arendelle is that it can't produce food enough for all its population. Arendelle buys the food for the winter just after the harvest. When this stupid conference was planned the English Royal Navy informed Queen Elsa that they wouldn't allow her to accumulate food until the end of the conference. "

"So they ensured that Arendelle would be more vulnerable to a blockade in winter. It's a logical movement." Erick said.

"The royal navy controlled our freighters to check that only the usual amount of food was being transported. But the days of the conference were special. Queen Elsa announced that great celebrations would be done. The conference would be a continuous party and a party needs a feast."

"So the English allowed Arendelle's freighters to transport food again." Erick added raising his eyebrows.

"Yes. They believed that we didn't dare to smuggle food with a royal navy frigate anchored in the middle of the fjord."

Erick gaped at his friend. "I'm a hussar whose colonel always said that I'm too daring and I can hardly believe that you have dared to do it under the nose of the royal navy. That frigate could destroy Arendelle's castle in a few hours."

"I tried to convince Queen Elsa not to do it. But I think that the English prohibition to buy food hurt Queen Elsa's pride and she liked the idea of deceiving them. So she accepted Anna's idea."

"

Erick shook his head in disbelief. "All this is useless. Arendelle is small, but you can't accumulate food enough in a few days to feed its population for the entire winter."

"I told Queen Elsa the same. She replied that this amount of food will be enough to allow her to start, although there wasn't food enough for the entire winter. I suppose that she has a schema."

"You can bet your life that she has one."Erick replied.

"Do you understand now why Queen Elsa is doing such celebrations? The real reason has nothing to do with your silly theory. She wasn't enjoying the situation.

"You are right. I completely misjudged her. But where do you store the food? I have been told that the only way to go out of the new harbor is through Arendelle. The mountains behind it are too steep and there is no way through them." Erick asked.

Corrado warily gazed at him.

"Do you know a secret cave and you have stored there the food?" Erick inquired.

"Not exactly." Corrado said. "It's true that there is no way to cross the mountains behind the new harbor. Well, it was true a year ago."

"And what has changed in a year?"

"Queen Elsa made new roads."

"If nobody had been able to make roads in that mountains before, why would Queen Elsa's workers be different?"

"You haven't understood me. She doesn't ordered her workers to make the roads. She made the roads!"

"What?"

Corrado started to talk as if he had been restraining himself from explaining it for a long time. "She used her powers to break the orographic barriers. I have seen that young woman joking with her sister while she waved her delicate hands, as if she was explaining a dance step, and the side of a mountain was broken by huge ice spears that moved following the movements of her hands. At the end we got a gentle slope and it was an easy task for Arendelle's workers to consolidate the terrain and build a road."

"And why did she that roads?"

"Arendelle had very bad communications. The mountains are high and steep, and that made difficult the transportation of the great trees which had been cut down, to the harbor. In fact, some of the valleys with the best timber were too isolated to be exploited. Queen Elsa has changed that forever. I was almost a month in the wilderness with both sisters and Kristoff. The mountain man knew the best way to the different valleys and the Queen did the rest. Later, workers from Arendelle build the new roads. Now Arendelle is well connected with the old timber valleys and some new ones. She even created a channel and a great dam where the water of the snow thaw will accumulate. It will provide the water to the channel to transport the trees." Corrado said, bursting of pride.

"Is she so powerful ?"

"It is not just a question of power! She is smart and knows how to use her powers to break the terrain in the correct place to get what she wants, but it was a hard work. Her powers haven't a long range, we were forced to work too close, following the path already created by Elsa and sometimes it was dangerous."

Erick looked at his friend in amazement. He hadn't never suspected that Elsas's powers were so impressive.

"And it also was exhausting." Corrado went on."When it got dark and we were in the tents, she usually fell sleep playing a chess game, or reading any official document with her head on Anna's lap."

Erick's head was buzzing with all the new information. "Then the new harbor..." Erick started to say.

"It has been devised to handle Arendelle's new timber production." Corrado interrupted him. "We plan to twice the production this year and thrice it once we have completed all the planed improvements. If those arrogant swines let the Queen do her job." Corrado said mumbling the last phrase.

Erick looked at Corrado in astonishment. He had believed that the new harbor was just a symbol of the wealth of Arendelle. One of these great constructions that never would be used at its full capacity.

"Erick I'm conscious of your dislike for Queen Elsa." Corrado went on. "But I have explained the creation of the new roads to you in order to show you that she cares for her people. She only wants to improve her Kingdom and the welfare of her subjects. Please, don't explain this to anybody."

Erick looked at his friend with amusement."If you knew what happened this midday in this very house, you would be really surprised." Erick inwardly said. "Don't worry Corrado." He finally replied. "I don't want to be on any side. In fact, I will talk tomorrow with Ladislas. I will return to the Plains, even if I have to..."

Erick was interrupted by the sound of bells chiming. Both men ran out of the house and stared at the castle.

"Those are the bells of the castle chapel. Something is happening!" Corrado said.

"Yes. I can see lights moving to and fro over the walls. Maybe it is a kind of celebration." Erick asked, but his voice lacked conviction.

"It's too late everybody should be sleeping. I will go to see what's happening." Corrado said.

"No. " Erick said. "You should go to the harbor and stop the unloading of the ships. Those bells will wake up everybody."

"You are right, but where are you going?" Corrado asked while Erick took her saddle which was over a fence in front of the house and entered into the stable.

"To the castle! Maybe my help is needed."

"Do you fear that the Imperial delegation is in trouble?" Corrado asked.

Erick couldn't help bursting out laughing at Corrado's words and he still laugh when he departed as fast as he dared in the darkness.

* * *

N.A: Hi

When I started to write this chapter I supposed that it would be a short one, but I have discovered that writing about a person moving in different places and describing them needs a lot of words. Although I have to recognize that I have expounded on Erick's reactions to his meeting with Elsa two chapters ago. I hope you have enjoyed it and, as usual, any review positive or negative would be welcome.

At the end, the chapter is so long that a final scene, describing what has happened in the castle, has been postponed and it will be the next chapter. But looking the current end of the chapter I think it is a better end. Don't you?

See you in Arendelle.


	33. A Dark Night in Arendelle's Castle

The ball in the Main Hall and the party in the gardens had finished and, at last, Arendelle's castle was peaceful and silent. Anyway Elsa wasn't able to sleep, she had too much things to worry about. She had sat in her bed trying to read Malory's 'The Death of Arthur', but she wasn't able to concentrate in it and raised her eyes from the pages of the book to look at the door leading to Anna's bedroom.

Usually she would have softly knocked on the door between both rooms and, if Anna had been still awake, they would have talked until she had forgotten her troubles or had fallen asleep at Anna's side. But she felt that it wasn't correct anymore. She knew that Kristoff was out of Arendelle and therefore Anna was alone, but now it was their room and the sooner she get used to respect their intimacy the better.

In fact, Anna was part of her problems. The Princess had surprised her being so close to discover the truth. Luckily, she had misinterpreted why she was reading the book of laws and, hopefully, she wouldn't realize her error until the end of the conference.

And it would be early. Lord Halkett had approached her during the ball to say that he had received the confirmation from London and they would sign the official treaty tomorrow morning. Elsa's feelings were contradictory. London hadn't realized the trap and it meant that her schema was working, but on the other hand, she shivered just thinking in the consequences of her plan. Hopefully, Anna would forgive her.

She tried to concentrate in the book and turned the page. The next one had a drawing of Tristan kneeling in front of Isolde and holding her hand. She couldn't help remembering Erick kissing her own hand in Corrado's house. Why had she behaved like a little fool? With Mullon she hadn't hesitated, why she had reacted so awkwardly with the hussar.

Surely, he was only flirting, he wanted to return to his regiment and boast that he had seduced the Snow Queen. But Elsa remembered the worried look in Erick's eyes when he believed that she was sick and the gentle touch of his fingers on her forehead. He was really concerned about her and that had disconcerted the young Queen. An attitude like that seemed utterly incongruous with the proud and aggressive hussar.

Elsa raised her hand and touched the point in which Erick's fingers had briefly brushed her forehead. She remembered the warm touch and how aware she had been of it. Elsa shook her head, he had too much things to take in account to worry just for a stranger. Anna and Arendelle depended on her and she couldn't afford any distraction.

Elsa decided that it was useless to stay in bed. First, she needed to take her mind off things, then she remembered the unfinished chess game with Erick. It was at critical point, everything was possible and any movement could had great consequences in the outcome of the game. It will be interesting to find out a way to catch the elusive hussar.

Raising from the bed, she created a new dress of ice to replace her short nightgown and went to the door smiling, but then she realized that it wasn't a good idea if she wanted to keep her mind away from the hussar. Annoyed, the Queen suddenly turned right around to return to her bed and almost bumped with the assassin.

He had been hiding behind the curtains by the great window waiting for Elsa to fell asleep. When she had gone towards the door he had seen his opportunity and had left his hiding place with a dagger in his right hand. Quickly and noiselessly, he got closer to the off-ward young Queen and stabbed Elsa in the kidneys, trying to get a killing blow, while he reached out his left arm to put his hand across the Queen's mouth.

But Elsa turned in that very moment, both were so surprised that Elsa was unable to react and the man didn't changed the direction of his blow hitting Elsa in the right side of her abdomen instead of his former objective. Elsa's eyes widened in surprise when she felt the surge of pain and she tried to catch with both hands the attacker's blade in a futile gesture of protection, but he hit with the other hand Elsa's face so hard that she knocked the door and her head banged against the wood.

The Queen of Arendelle fell down while the assassin jumped on her. Elsa instinctively created an ice barrier between her and the thug, but, when her powers started to work, she felt a dire stabbing pain in the wound to his side. Her concentration lost due to the pain, the icy protection faded before existing. It melted in a rain of tiny snowflakes which fell over Elsa.

The man put his left hand across Elsa's mouth pinning her against the floor trying to slit her throat with the knife in his right one. The young Queen caught his arm with both hands striving to keep away the blade and her legs frantically moved trying to get rid of his grasp. They struggled for a short while, but the man was stronger and used his weight to his own advantage. Slowly and implacably the point of the knife get closer to Elsa's neck.

When she felt the cold of the blade touching her skin, Elsa used all his will to make an attempt to use her powers. White frost covered her face and the hand over her mouth. Elsa felt an agonizing pain on her bowels but he also gasped in pain and his grasp weakened. In a desperate effort, the Queen broke free from the assassin, but the knife was too close and, while she pulled away, Elsa felt the point of the knife piercing the skin of her neck and right cheek. She tried to rise quickly but her legs failed and she fell to her knees.

Suddenly, the door which leaded to Anna's room burst open and the Princess, who had been still awake and had heard the sounds of the fight, entered into the room. "What are you doing to my sister!" She shouted.

The man turned around towards Anna and, assuming that Elsa was fatally injured, pounced on the newcomer.

Elsa was hardly able to remain conscious, but she caught a glimpse of the man running towards her younger sister with the dagger in his hand and she felt a sudden surge of rage. Elsa raised her hands and tried to create a cage of spikes which would have trapped the assassin The pain returned again worse than before, but this time Anna was in danger and Elsa's teeth clenched in anger while she used her determination combined with her fury in a last strike.

When the ice started to flow from her hands and solidified, Elsa gasped realizing that it was out of control due to the pain and her feeble state. Instead of a cage of spikes which would have trapped the men, a huge mass of solid ice formed, hitting and throwing the assassin against the great paneled window. He went through the glass and fell to his dead in the courtyard several floors below. In the blink of an eye, the great mas of ice uncontrollably enlarged and projected out of the window, leaning against the wooden walls which burst and cracked. Finally the walls shattered and the huge block of ice fell to the courtyard followed by a section of the wall.

"Elsa!" Anna shouted going closer to her sister who had fallen to the ground. Anna took Elsa in her arms and gasped when she noticed the cruel wound on one side of Elsa's neck and the awful blood stains on her dress. "Elsa. Tell me something!" She sobbed realizing that her hands were covered with the warm blood of her sister.

But her elder sister didn't say anything, just looked at her tightly grasping her hand as if she was holding something precious while Anna shouted for a doctor with all her might.


	34. An Inconvenient Ice

The strong and cold northerly wind had risen few minutes before and Anna shivered while she walked through the forest in her way to the new harbor. The lamp she hold in her right hand swung due to the gusts of wind and the flame inside flickered. "I shouldn't be here. I should be with my sister." Anna said to herself. "In this very moment she could be..." Anna tried not to think and pressed the hand of Kjersti, Kai's niece, who was at his side

"Is Queen Elsa making this wind?" The eight years old girl asked getting closer to Anna while she walked.

"I'm not sure she has created the wind, but it is possible." Anna hadn't even thought in that possibility although a wind so cold wasn't usual in the middle of the summer. She was too engrossed in thinking about the last events in the castle.

When the doctor had arrived to the room, Elsa had pulled Anna's nightgown, drawing her sister closer to her and whispered in her ear that she must go to the new harbor to stop the unloading of the freighters. Anna had replied that Corrado would stop the process, but Elsa had been adamant. "Maybe Corrado is already sleeping. He uses to left his translator in charge and went to sleep. Someone of high rank should go to ensure that everybody stops working and everything is hidden." Elsa had said.

Finally Anna had left her sister with the doctor. Before leaving, she had asked him if she will be all right. The doctor had just replied that he had to examine the Queen to made a diagnosis. The fact that the doctor wasn't sure about Elsa's state had been like a blow in the chest, but she had left for the stable to discover that it was impossible to reach it and, as all the horses of the village were in the new harbor because they were used in its construction, no horse was available.

The castle was a chaos and every minute counted, so she had decided to walk on her own to the new harbor. Kjersti has joined her in the village. She had heard that the Queen had been assassinated. The girl had tried to reach the castle in search of a refutation of such obviously false, under her point of view, news. But the accesses to the bridge were blocked by a crowd formed by the villagers and, anyway, the soldiers didn't allow anybody to access the castle.

Anna had found her sitting in a narrow street fighting back her tears. Anna had soothed the girl answering her anguished questions about the Queen and she had insisted on accompanying the Princess. She seemed so anxious that Anna had allowed the girl to go with her providing that she would wait out of the new harbor.

"The people in the main square said that the Queen will freeze Arendelle again."

"Maybe she is creating this wind. Her emotions can involuntarily affect the weather and she had reasons enough to be afraid. But I'm sure that she won't freeze Arendelle again." After saying that Anna hastened her steps to reach the new harbor as soon as possible, trying not to think about what could be happening to her sister which justified that wind. "Don't think about that, don't think about that." She said to herself while walking.

* * *

The raising wing had almost removed the cloud cover and rippled the surface of the water which glimmered with the pale light of the full moon. The fjord seemed to Vladimiras like a great plain covered with snow.

He and Steponas were in the portal of the castle talking with a Lithuanian soldier who had come running from the encampment which was on alert due to the chiming of the bells. Nobody was allowed to enter or leave the castle and the Prince had met with the soldier in the gate under the watchful eye of the Arendelle's guards who were protecting the entrance.

After having dismissed the soldier, both men beheld the fjord and the strong wind that swept across the long and narrow sea inlet among the mountains.

"We are in the lands of winter. We should leave Arendelle as soon as possible." Steponas groaned as he wrapped himself up in her fur cloak with an upset expression which twisted the scar crossing his face in an unpleasant way.

"It's just a colder than usual summer breeze." The Prince replied looking at the Arendelle villagers who crowded the main square at the other side of the bridge. They looked nervous. Vladimiras supposed that they remembered what had happened a year ago and feared the implications of the unusual chilly wind.

"If this wind were a summer breeze, I would be an Imperial huss..." The veteran soldier started to say when he suddenly interrupted himself. "Is that a rider?" He asked in surprise, pointing to the other side of the village.

Vladimiras turned and saw a dark shadow quickly approaching through Arendelle's village. "Yes. And he runs as if the devil was on his heels." Vladimiras replied.

The rider pushed his way through the crowd waiting in the front of the castle, crossed the bridge and stopped in front of the gate. When Vladimiras recognized him his eyes widened in surprise.

"Why are you clad in those clothes? And how have you been wounded in the head?" The Lithuanian Prince asked to Erick. His worn uniform and the bandage across his forehead gave him a strange look in an official conference held by diplomats who wore dress uniform. It was as if the seam of a beautiful and flamboyant pillow had come unstitched and you could see that the stuffing inside was dirty and unpleasant.

"It's a boring story." Erick replied in Lithuanian while dismounting. "What has happened?"

"An assassin tried to kill the Queen."

Erick stared at the Prince in astonishment. "How is El... Queen Elsa?"

"I don't know. The seneschal hasn't provided much information. I suppose that she has been wounded and they aren't quite sure about the seriousness of her wounds or perhaps they are too sure."

"Have they captured the assassin?" Erick inquired.

"He is dead. The Queen threw him through the window of her bedroom."

"Are you sure of that?" Erick asked in disbelief.

"I have seen the corpse of the assassin in the courtyard. He had been projected a good distance from the keep. The Queen used a huge icy ram which is so big that it also fell and now it's blocking the pass of the horses from the stables."

"Now, I understand why I haven't seen any patrol in my way to the castle." Erick said. "But isn't there an alternative way for the horses?"

Vladimiras shook his head. "This is an old castle from medieval times. It is not designed like a modern fortress and the only way to get the horses out from the stable is passing in front of the main keep and now Queen Elsa's ice is blocking off that path."

"And the Queen hasn't melt the ice." Erick slowly said with a grave expression on her face.

Vladimiras nodded. "That's why I suppose that she is seriously wounded. She hasn't melt the ice because she can't use her powers due to her wounds. "

Erick unconsciously put the right hand over the hilt of his saber, but his face remained impassive.

Vladimiras went on. "A group of Arendelle soldiers is working on it, but it is not normal ice. It is hard as stone and we are in a hurry because I'm sure that the assassin had a companion."

"Why?"

"Few days ago, I was returning from the encampments with Antanas and Steponas and I saw the assassin leaving the village with another man. I have recognized him when I have seen the corpse."

"Are you sure of that?"

"Of course I'm. He rode a trakehner and I was surprised to see such a fine horse in Arendelle."

"Have you warned Rolf?"

"Yes. And they will lead a patrol to chase him as soon as possible. In fact I have asked his permission to join them."

"Why do you want to join them? I don't supposed you so interested by the Queen."

"They have tried to kill my future wife. They deserve a stiff punishment. It's just a matter of prestige."

"I doubt that any other candidate would bother about that detail." Erick replied his voice loaded with sarcasm.

Vladimiras shrugged. "I don't care for them. What really worries me is that we are blocked like a whale in a beach." Vladimiras took a deep breath before going on. "They would thank you if you would allow them to use your horse."

"So they could send a scout." Erick warily replied, guessing the Prince's thoughts.

"Yes. They can't even send scouts to locate the assassin encampment. It must be near. If you allowed an Arendelle scout to use your horse, he could locate the track of the assassin and we would have a starting point when we get rid of that ice."

Erick shook his head." I have a better proposal. I will locate the assassin encampment."

"An Arendelle dragoon would have a better knowledge of the terrain." Vladimiras quickly replied.

"The only way an assassin could enter into the castle is crossing the fiord inlet at its west side. The other sides are oriented towards the village or the fjord and it is too wide. I don't need to be born in Arendelle to scout such a small shore."

Vladimiras shook his head."Rolf won't accept that."

"Then tell him it when I've gone."

"Anyway, He won't like it."

Erick smiled. "Rolf is not my superior officer."

"I'm sure that if he was Imperial officer you would respect his opinions." The voice of the prince was laced with irony. By the way, regarding your superiors, have you thought that he could be an assassin hired by the Empire?"

"Of course I have." Erick gravely replied. "And have you thought that if I were the explorer, you and your men would be the best fitted to follow me and Rolf would allow you to join to the party. "

"Why do you want to make that? So bored are you? And I'm not going to believe that you are doing this to help me to be included in the party." The Lithuanian Prince asked.

"A wise man always takes his decisions based on different reasons, but I can assure you that your inclusion in the party is one of them." Erick replied smiling.

Vladimiras also smiled recognizing his own words from a previous talk with Erick five days ago."All right. I will follow you. Depart before one of the guards realize how precious is your horse. And remember that they will want the assassin alive."

"Don't worry he will be alive and able to talk." Erick replied as he mounted on his horse.

Vladimiras and Steponas looked how the horse and its rider disappeared in the night before turning and entering the castle.

"I don't like to be guided by him." The old veteran soldier said while they passed through the gates.

"He is one of the best scouts of the Imperial army in the Plains." The Prince replied looking at the great mass of ice which blocked the way to the stables. There were men trying to cut a path through the solid ice with fire but the ice melted incredibly slow.

"I don't doubt of his capabilities, but as you have said, the Empire could be behind the assassin. Do you believe that he would guide us well in that case."

Vladimiras was gazing at Antanas who was working with the men of Arendelle. "Antanas has taken it seriously." The Prince said ignoring Steponas' last question.

"You want to chase the assassin for prestige and he for other reason. But both of you are motivated by the same person."

"As I told you, It is just a crush and it will fade."

"Maybe his feelings will grow cold cutting that ice." Steponas replied with a broad smile twisting the scar on his face.

* * *

Anna and Kjersti were still in the forest. The girl was tired and wasn't able to maintain Anna's fast pace. At least the wind had cleared up the sky and the moonlight illuminated the fjord making the way through the forest easier.

"We will rest here for a while. " Anna said.

The girl was so tired that she don't even protested and sat on a rock by the path. "Princess Anna. May I ask you a question." She panted suddenly.

"Of course" Anna replied a bit surprised, since the girl didn't usually ask for permission before making a question.

"Will Queen Elsa be fine? I mean she won't..." Kjersti's voice faltered and wasn't able to complete the question.

Anna supposed that she hadn't dared to make the question before because she feared the possible answer and her tremulous voice touched Anna. "My sister won't die." Anna replied as she brushed the girl's hair. Much to the Princess' own surprise, her voice was firm and confident.

Suddenly they heard the sound of hooves approaching. "Maybe they are people from the castle!"Kjersti exclaimed.

Anna knew that it was not possible. "I doubt..." The Princess started to say but the girl had already raised and was running towards the coming raider. "Kjersti no!" Anna exclaimed but the girl suddenly stopped when she reached a bend in the path and was able to see who was coming.

"Run Princess Anna!" She exclaimed in panic. "He is coming for you!"

Anna couldn't see the rider because he was out of sight due to the curve, but she ran towards the girl, lifted her in her arms and tried to hide in the nearby bushes, but the rider was already over them. The horse suddenly appeared and Kjersti shouted in fear making the horse rear up.

Anna catch a glimpse of a dark figure on the horse who was raising over his head a blade which shone under the moonlight before threw herself to the ground trying to protect the girl with her own body from the hooves of the horse which slammed on the ground.

"Anna? Are you all right?" The rider exclaimed.

Anna's eyes widened in surprise while she raised her head."Erick?" Now she could see that the blade she had seen was the moonlight gleaming in the death's head on Erick's shako.

"Don't trust him!" Kjersti exclaimed. "He only wants to kidnap you, so he could brought you to the Plains and force you to marry him!"

"It's a really interesting proposal." Erick replied as he dismounted. "But I fear that I'm busy tonight. Anna, what are you doing here? You should be in the castle under Rolf's protection."

"But I have to..." Anna suddenly stopped talking. The new harbor activities were secret and she had to quickly look for an excuse. "... talk with Corrado. It is very important."

"Then you will find him in the new harbor. He went there when he heard the bells chiming." Erick said, guessing Anna's real mission. "An assassin has tried to murder her sister and in spite of that they still worry about maintaining their schema going on." Erick thought with admiration.

"Really?" Anna exclaimed. "Then he will be busy. It will return to the castle."

"Yes. There you will be protected and with your sister."

Erick's reference to Elsa made Anna remember her sister wounds. "Yes." Anna said just one word, but her sorrowful expression was more explicit than an entire book.

"Anna, has Elsa been seriously wounded?" Erick asked.

The Princess nodded and explained to the hussar the last events in the castle. "And I don't know even if my sister's injuries are dangerous."

Erick shook his head. "If the one in the neck had punctured a main blood vessel, she would have dead in a few minutes. So we can suppose that it is not dangerous." Erick paused before going on. "The one in the side is different. If it has affected a vital organ she could die in a few hours. I'm sorry but I can't tell you much."

"Thank you Erick. I will return with my sister." Anna replied smiling to the hussar under the Kjersti's surprised gaze who was hardly able to believe that Erick wasn't an enemy.

"I wish I could bring you, but I'm in a hurry." Erick replied cringing with embarrassment.

In that moment Anna noticed that Erick wore an unusual uniform. "Erick what are you doing here?" Anna asked.

Erick hesitated, but eventually he explained to Anna what Vladimiras had told about the assassin's companion. "We have to catch him, so we could interrogate him in order to know who is behind them, and more important, to avoid a new murder attempt against Elsa."

Anna thoughtfully looked at Erick. "Why are you doing this Erick?"

"I have spent too much time here. Please return to the castle as soon as possible you will be safe there with your sister."

"I will go with you." Anna firmly replied.

Erick's eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you joking? There is an assassin prowling around and I am supposed to bring him his coveted objective? "

"The objective was Elsa not me and I know the terrain. I could help you to locate the encampment of the assassin."

"You don't have a horse and I need to move quickly."

"I'm light just like you." It was true Erick was slender and just a few inches taller than Anna."Your horse could carry both of us."

Erick shook his head while he reached for the reins of his horse.

"I'm a Princess of Arendelle and I command you to bring me." She said in his most commanding tone of voice.

"I'm not bound to obey Arendelle's crown." Erick replied putting his left foot on the stirrup."

"I will command Rolf to throw you in jail when you return to Arendelle."

"And he would be happy to throw the key of the cell as far as possible once I'm inside." Erick replied mounting. "I will see you later. Anna. I understand that you want to come with me, but please believe me, the best place for you is with your sister."

"I don't want to come with you!" She shouted. "Since I had crossed the gate of the castle I long to return with my sister and take care of her. But what I want is not important! Protecting her is more important and that means that we have to catch the other assassin!"

Erick gazed thoughtfully at Anna. "I will regret that." He finally said as he reached his right hand towards Anna. The Princess of Arendelle's face lit up and, after handling the lamp to Kjersti, quickly grasped the offered hand and mounted on the horse behind Erick.

Erick thought that the assassin encampment would be surely deserted and they would meet the patrol from the castle long before they could find the other assassin. "When we meet Rolf, you will return to the castle." Erick told Anna.

"Don't worry. I will calm Rolf."

"I don' t fear Rolf, but your sister will kill me." The hussar replied swerving the horse.

"I also want to go." Kjersti protested.

"This is out of the question."

"I'm not talking with you foreigner!" The girl sternly replied. "Please Princes Anna."

Anna bend down to talk with her. "I'm sorry, but I need you to go to the castle and warn them about where I am. Please, would you do it for me?" Anna asked in her gentlest tone of voice.

The girl didn't seem convinced, but nodded and beheld how they disappeared in the darkness.


	35. The Chase

Konrad, the King of the Southern Isles, was in his private chambers sipping a glass of Port. The bottle, on a small table at his side, was half-empty. He could hear the sounds of the activity in the courtyard, but he pretended not to care for it and studied the gleam of the light in the crimson liquid in his glass. His eyes quickly raised when there was a knock at the door. The King was so nervous that he almost dropped his glass.

"Any news about Queen Elsa?" Konrad asked when his valet opened the door.

"How charming! The groom cares of the bride." Stephan, his younger brother, replied as he pushed Konrad's valet away and entered into the room. Although they were in the middle of the night, he was fully clothed unlike his elder brother who wore his night-clothes .

"Do you know if Elsa is alive?." Konrad asked when the wallet had already closed the door again.

"Kai remain silent like a grave." Stephan answered as he went closer to the table and poured himself a glass of Port.

"And is that a good sign?"

"It depends." Stephan replied before sipping his Porto.

"What does it depends on?"

"On what do you want to happen." Stephan replied as he fixedly gazed at his brother.

"I don't understand you." Konrad replied visibly uncomfortable.

Stephan swallowed the Port before replying. "Konrad, are you behind this assassin?"

"Are you joking!" The elder brother replied.

"I wish I were joking. But I still remember our last talk in my room. You say that you still kept an ace up your sleeve and I wonder whether you were talking of an assassin.

"It was a few days ago. It's impossible to hire an assassin in so little time."

"You are right. And that was my first reaction when I find out about the attempt against Elsa. But I remember that, few months ago, we had hired a group of four assassins to make a work in the little Kingdom south of Arendelle. Do you remember them?" Stephan's voice was soft but his eyes were cold as ice.

Konrad keep silent and looked at his brother with fear.

Stephan went on." We were about to order the assassination of the old King's unique heir during a hunt when Princess Anna of Arendelle paid a visit to the Kingdom and we had to postpone it. Few days after the Arendelle conference was announced and we decided that it would be counterproductive being entangled in that petty Kingdom and Arendelle at the same time, so the assassins were instructed to hide and wait for further orders." Stephan gazed at his brother's eyes before going on with angry voice. "Please, tell me that they haven't received any."

Konrad cleared his throat. "If Elsa died, Lord Halkett would feign indignation, but in private, he would be pleased and support our claim to Anna's hand."

"So you really made it!" Stephan said as he sighed.

"If Elsa died, the control of Arendelle would be again a Norway's internal issue and England would prefer keeping the great European powers out of Arendendelle and we could convince Lord Halkett to support us as a way to keep them away."

Stephan shook his head. "It's too risky!" He exclaimed as he banged on the table dropping the bottle of Port. When hitting the floor, the flask shattered in hundreds of pieces and the Port ran over the floor.

Konrad looked at the red blood-like stain in the floor and felt a shiver running through his spine. "But we planned to make similar things before." He finally replied.

"Yes." Stephan answered after slumping into a chair as he struggled to recover his self-control. When he went on, his voice was friendly. "But now, half Europe is looking at us. It could be inconvenient if we appear with our hands dripping blood."

"If Elsa dies Lord Halkett would forgive all our sins."

"Everything depends on Elsa's death and that no assassin is captured alive. Then we could have a chance." Stephan slowly said. "But the size of the group is a problem for us. Four is too much people for an operation like this. One thing is to catch a young Prince in the middle of a forest and a completely different one to stab a Queen in her bedroom."

"Luckily, Queen Elsa has been kind enough to block the way out of the stable and nobody is pursuing the other assassins." Konrad replied.

"Yes. But I would prefer that the team was composed by a unique assassin and he was lying death in the dungeons of the castle. The remaining assassins are just inconvenient witnesses."

Konrad brushed the back of his neck. "My hope is that that stubborn girl give up soon and we receive news about her death." He nervously replied.

* * *

The milky light of the full moon illuminated the shore of the fjord. Anna remembered similar nights during the excursions with Kristoff into the wilderness and how had enjoyed the strange sensation of walking in a night that was as a pale day. Walking under the trees with Kristoff at her side had been almost magical, but tonight, after the attack against Elsa, there wasn't any magic. She was alone and everything seemed weird and dangerous, full of strange sounds like the howl of the icy wind which had increased its force.

Erick had located the best section of the shore to approach the castle and Anna had told him the location of the coves in that zone. She used to stroll there with Elsa, Kristoff or both of them and knew well them.

Now Erick was exploring the third place described by Anna and, much to Anna's annoyance, she was waiting with Erick's horse. The Princess had bitterly complained, but Erick had been adamant regarding that point. He would explore alone and Anna would stay in the relative security of the rear position.

But Erick had been exploring for a long time and Anna was getting worried. In the two previous places, Erick had quickly returned, but this time it was different. "Or maybe I'm just nervous." Anna thought when the hoot of an owl gave her a start. But in this very moment she felt something touching his right arm. The young Princess yelled and turned to face a smiling Erick who had approached from behind.

"Is this your idea of a joke?" Anna whispered. "You scared me to death."

"I'm sorry. You were so tense that I couldn't help it." Erick said mischievously smiling.

"How do you have come so noiselessly. I haven't heard you." Anna asked still trembling.

"I have been a scout for four years in the Plains and when you are a scout the one who makes noise is the one who dies." Erick replied. "And you don't have to whisper any more. The assassin is far away. "

"Anyway, I don't believe that it is a good idea... Wait a second! Why do you say that the assassin is far away."

"Because I have found his encampment and his horse." Erick replied pointing to a thicket of birches.

The trees were around a gully into which was placed the encampment. A little stream went through it on his way towards the fjord. Due to the trees and the sunken terrain the place was invisible from the castle and the nearby paths. A chestnut horse, a fine animal far better than the average horse, was tied to a fallen tree. There weren't remains of any campfire and the only indication that it was an encampment were the saddle and saddlebags on the fallen tree to which the horse had been tied.

"All his belongings are packed in the saddlebags. He was ready to depart as soon as he had returned from his mission." Erick said as he took the saddle from the ground and put it on the tied horse.

"After he would have killed my sister."Anna thought." How did you find this place? It is really well hidden."

"I have found fresh footsteps entering in the water in the point were the stream flows into the fjord and I supposed that the assassin, after returning from the castle, would have used the stream as a guide to quickly locate his encampment in the middle of the night. So I followed it from the shore until I found the horse." Erick said while he fastened the girth of the saddle.

"And where is the companion of the assassin we are looking for?"

"He left the encampment at evening. I have located his track and it has only a few hours."

"Did he deserted his comrade just before trying to kill my sister?" Anna shook her head. "It doesn't make sense."

"I was sure that he wouldn't be here. In some situations, a person is better than an entire army and being near the castle while his comrade was trying to kill Elsa would have been an unnecessary risk. They should have studied the castle together until an opportunity to act, a night without moon, aroused. Then they parted and now he must be far away of the castle waiting for the return of his dead friend." Erick finished fastening the saddle and took the saddlebags.

"And what he will do when he realize that his friend don't come?"

"He will wait for a while, then he will assume that his comrade is dead or captured and will flee to avoid being captured. We have to catch him before that." Erick put the saddlebags on the horse.

"And what are we going to do now?" Anna asked.

"Now, you have a horse and it is a fine animal. It is a trakehner, a warmblooded breed. That means that it is spirited but not too much." Erick replied as he patted its neck.

"I know what is a trakehner and a warmblooded horse." Anna warily said feeling a strange tone on Erick's voice.

"Then you can return to the castle with it. I'm sure that Rolf will be very interested in the belongings of the assassin." Erick concluded.

"What are you talking about? You told me that I would be with you until we met Rolf."

"I supposed that Rolf and a patrol of Arendelle's dragons would be here by now, but he isn't and I can't wait anymore. I have to chase the assassin." Erick replied as he mounted on his horse. He had accepted to bring Anna with him because he was quite sure that the companion of the assassin wouldn't be near the castle. But from that point on, bringing Anna would have been an unnecessary risk. "Good bye Anna I will do my best to chase him."

The hussar swerved his horse and moved away until he reached the path and disappeared behind one of its bends. Anna sighed and untied the horse. After guiding the animal, which was mild as Erick had said, to the path, Anna studied the ground and smiled. Wanting to make his trail easy to follow by Rolf's soldiers, Erick hadn't taken care to hide his trail. And Kristoff had taught Anna how to follow a track.

* * *

Antanas had been almost an hour trying to cut a way through the ice and he was furious. The ice had resisted picks, axes and fire. He had even made red-hot a pick and used it against the ice, but it had just produced burns on his hands.

Nobody had achieved better results. Piles of broken tools marked the points where the soldiers of Arendelle had tried to break the ice. The young Lithuanian was eager to pursue the accomplice of the assassin, the idea of catching him and avenge the young Queen had impelled him to work hard for an hour. But now he deliberately dropped his pick, climbed to the top of the huge block of ice and tried to think. His uncle Vladimiras always said that a global view of a battle was key to win it and he had decided to try it literally.

Antanas looked at the courtyard and the icy roof that covered it. If the Queen had used the same type of ice to make the block they would work with their tools until the hell freezes over.

He turned his face and looked at the stables. A group of men was also fruitlessly working in that side of the icy barrier. The space between the stables and the ice was a small section of the courtyard delimited at its sides by the walls of the castle and the keep.

"This is frustrating! In a battle you can lure the enemy into a trap, simulate a false attack, flank him..." Antanas said inwardly. "In this limited space we can only blindly charge against the wall and break our..." Antanas' eyes suddenly lit up.

"Where is Rolf! I have to talk with him." He shouted so excited that he didn't realize that he was talking in Lithuanian and the men in the courtyard gazed at him unable to understand a single word.

* * *

Anna looked in surprise at the small house in the middle of the trees. Although she scented the dawn, the forest around her was so thick and dark that she hadn't been able to see the building until she was at a short distance.

Following Erick's track, she had found his horse close by the path, tied to a tree. The animal was near to a small and narrow secondary path which went into a specially thick part of the forest. Anna had hesitated, but finally she had decided that, since she was on their own, she hadn't to stay with the horses and walked down the path into the forest until she found out the house, hidden among the trees.

Anna started to silently crept towards the house as she tried to imagine where Erick was. When she got closer, the Princess realized that the house was a little temporally shelter which had been used by Elsa's workers who had made the new roads to the timber valleys. Usually it would have been inhabited but Anna was able to see a light in one of the windows.

Anna was about to left the cover of the trees to approach the house when she heard the noise of a branch breaking behind her. "Erick?" She whispered half amused, half frightened, although the Princess was sure that she hadn't made any sound.

But, before she could turn, a hand from behind clamped over her mouth and a strong arm wrapped around her waist grasping Anna's both arms. She instinctively kicked backwards hitting her captor's leg.

"Damn!" The man exclaimed. "Calm down young girl! I'm not going to harm you." He went on in French as he tightened his grasp around Anna.

Anna tried to pull away of the man's embrace, but he was a hefty man and Anna wasn't able to move. She changed her tactic and managed to fiercely bite the hand across her mouth.

The man maintained his grasp around Anna's waist but quickly moved away his hand from Anna's mouth. "You are brave!" He said more amused than angry.

In that moment another man turned the corner of the house with a lamp in his hand.

"Wasn't supposed that there was only one accomplice?" Anna thought when she noticed that the newcomer was too tall to be Erick. She wasn't able to see his face due to the blinding light of the lamp .

"Damn it! She is Princess Anna of Arendelle" Exclaimed the newcomer.

Those words paralyzed Anna. If the assassins recognized her, she would be in danger.

"Are you joking?" The man behind Anna exclaimed.

"I'm sure." The man with the lamp replied. "Anna, are you all right?" He told Anna.

Anna, whose eyes had finally accustomed to the blinding glare of the torch, wasn't able to say anything. She was gaping at the man with the lamp in amazement. "Kurt?" She asked in disbelief.

The young Prussian, holding the lamp, stood in front of Anna. He just wore a pair of trousers. The light of the lamp gleamed on his blue eyes which looked at Anna in astonishment.

"What are you doing here?" Kurt asked in an unwelcoming tone of voice.

"I should ask that to you!" Anna replied as she pulled away of the grip which had been restraining her. The man behind was so confused that he didn't even try to retain her. Anna turned and recognized the handsome cuirassier who Kurt had painted in his sketchbook. He was also half naked just covered by his trousers, but Anna noticed that he wore his long sword suspended from his belt.

"Alain Destang lieutenant of the 12th Cuirassier Regiment your highness. I'm sorry." The French officer said bowing.

"Anna Princess of Arendelle." Anna curtly said as she replied to his salute.

"Why were you skulking around the house. What have you seen?" Kurt asked the tone of his voice was polite but his face was grave.

"And what are you doing here? Why do you met in a hidden place like that?" Anna fiercely replied. She couldn't believe that Kurt was involved in the attack against her sister, but she wanted answers.

"We heard somebody prowling near one the windows. Have you been peeking through the window?" Kurt eagerly asked.

"I don't ..." Anna started to reply, but she was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Erick from behind a great oak which was just at the back of Alain.

"I was prowling around your window." The young hussar calmly said as he raised from behind the tree.

The French cuirassier gazed at him in obvious surprise, but he quickly recovered his composure "So he is the Erick you called before."Alain told Anna with a bit of irony in his voice. "When you said that name, I guessed why you were here." He went on with an amused smile on his face.

"Don't calumniate the Princess! We have different reasons than yours to be here as you will soon discover." Erick exclaimed while, hand over the hilt of the curved saber and eyes gleaming with defiance, placed himself beside Anna.

Both men, the Prussian and the French, grimaced when they heard Erick's words and Anna's eyes widened in surprise when he suddenly realize why Kurt was in that hidden place with the French cuirassier.

"We have to leave." Erick told Anna ignoring the expressions of the other men.

"Yes, we are in a hurry."Anna replied. "You will discover tomorrow why we are here, but I recommend you to return to the castle as quick as possible." Anna told Kurt.

"Although my advice to you is not to return together." Erick added.

Anna nodded and, after saying goodbye to Kurt and Alain, disappeared with Erick into the forest.

When they were far enough not to be heard from the house, Anna started to ask. "Was a woman hiding in the house?"

Erick shook his head in a mute response.

"Then they were..." But she hesitated about the correct word to use.

"Yes, they were doing exactly what you are thinking." Erick replied as he raised his eyebrows. "I climbed a pile of logs to peek trough the window looking for an assassin, but what I found was so different to what I expected that I slipped and almost fall with such a surprise."

"That's why they heard you. Weren't you supposed never to be heard?"Anna asked with feigned innocence.

"When dealing with assassins, Tartars or Lithuanians, I'm good enough. But I have to recognize that I'm not used to see two Romeos without any Juliette."Erick laughed. "But what really surprised me was to find your horse beside mine. Why didn't you wait with the horse? He could have been a real assassin."

"I'm on my own and I don't have to follow your instructions." Anna defiantly replied. "And I don't need you."

"I have noticed that. You were alone and dealt with two men by night in the middle of the forest with unusual tact and diplomacy. Although kicking and biting aren't usual skills for a Princess."

"Did you see that?"

"Yes. I returned as quick as possible and I saw how the Frenchman caught you."

"Have you been all, this time behind the oak?"

"Yes. I hesitated, but finally I decided that he wasn't going to harm you and it wasn't necessary to kill him."

"Would you have killed him?" Anna asked in surprise.

"Of course I would have! He could have broken your neck in an instant. If I had supposed that he was going to harm, you the best option would have been to cut his throat before he could react."

Anna gulped. Erick was talking about killing Alain, who had been quite nice after all, as though it was a petty question.

The hussar noticed her reaction. "This is not a play Anna. Please, return to the castle before you get hurt or worse. There are going to happen nasty things before we catch the assassin."

Anna hesitated before replying. "I will go with or without you, but if I go with you I will follow your instructions."

Erick sighed in despair. "You are stubborn like a mule, Rolf don't appear and every minute counts." Erick shook his head looking at the sky. The first lights of the dawn were visible over the mountains at the east and the keen wind howled among the trees dispersing the early morning mist that rose out of the wet ground.

Anna shivered due to a sudden gust of wind. "I wish this wind stopped blowing."

"Don't say that!" Erick replied looking at the moon which had started to fade due to the light of the dawn. "In summer, a wind like that is unnatural and we can be sure that it has been created by your sister."

"And?"

"If Elsa is creating the wind she is still alive."

"Are you sure of that?"

Erick shook his head. "No, but believing it won't hurt my chances to catch the man we are chasing." Erick replied with a confident smile on his face.

They reached the main path and Erick studied the ground. "At least we will have more light to follow the track." Erick went on. "I suppose that I have taken the wrong direction in the last fork and followed our two Romeos by mistake."

"Poor Kurt. Now, I understand why he was so tense." Anna said. "We could ask them to come with us. They might be helpful."

Erick signaled Anna's mount which had belonged to the assassin who died trying to kill Elsa. "This is a trakehner a breed that comes from West Prussia just like von Schrader."

"Do you believe they are involved in the attempt against my sister?"

"No. But I don't trust him. Maybe because he is Allan Halkett's friend. Anyway I prefer to go on my own." Erick replied purposefully looking at Anna.

"And what are we going to do now?" Anna replied empathizing the word 'we'.

"We?" Erick replied with irony."I should take both horses and leave you on foot."

"I would follow you anyway. That man had tried to kill my sister. I'm not going to return to the castle."

"I'm sure of that." Erick replied annoyedly although a hint of pride gleamed in his eyes. "Mount Anna." Erick finally said giving Anna the reins. "We have to return to the last fork and locate the trail of the assassin."

"Great!"Anna replied, jumping for joy."You won't regret it."

"I already regret it." Erick replied. "As I told before, your sister will kill me." He said looking at the fading moon.

* * *

Rolf sheeted with impatience while he paced back and forth in the reception hall looking through the main gate of the keep to the courtyard. He was a patient man, but waiting for news about Elsa's state and being confined into the castle due to her own ice was a hard ordeal.

Kay entered into the room through a gate which leaded to the rooms of the servants.

"Do you know any news about Elsa?" Rolf asked to the seneschal.

Kai shook his head before talking. "Had you give to that Lithuanian boy permission to destroy the castle?" He unsmilingly asked to the commander of the guard.

Rolf looked at the seneschal in surprise. "He had a very good idea to get the horses out of the castle and I have given him permission to put it into practice."

"But he and some of your men are nailing wooden ramps in the stairs of the kitchen and have broken some door frames because, according to his opinion, they were too small and a horse couldn't go to through them."

"Yes. We aren't able to break Elsa's ice, so we will move the horses through the castle. From the stables, we can reach the wall of the kitchen. He has proposed to make a hole in that wall and from the kitchen we could reach this room and chase the other assassin." Rolf said, nodding his head towards the door which leaded to the courtyard. "I fear that some minor damages will be inevitable.

"Do you really believe that he could..." Kai started to say.

But in this moment a horse, with a blanket over its head which covered its eyes, guided by Antanas came through the door from which Kai had entered a few minutes before.

"We made it!" The young Lithuanian triumphantly exclaimed while he steered the animal towards the courtyard. "In twenty minutes we will have horses enough to send a patrol.

"Great!" Rolf exclaimed.

But Kai gasped at the sight of the hooves over the carpet and the horse evacuating its bowels before it was driven out of the room. "Is it really necessary?"

"We have to catch the accomplice of the assassin!" Rolf replied smiling, since It was the first good news in the whole night.

The seneschal sighed."I suppose you are right, but I would have preferred not looking so desesperated. It isn't a good image to show in front of the foreigner delegates."

"Now, my first priority is to give chase to the assassins." Rolf replied.

"Do you think that I don't want to catch them? But they are only another people's intrument."Kai replied.

In that very moment, Gudvard, the royal doctor, whose face was pale and strained, entered into the room and approached both men. "Kai, Rolf. You must see the Queen as soon as possible."

Years ago, the doctor had gone with the group of Arendelle's soldiers, integrated in the Swedish army but leaded by the old King, which had fought against Napoleon. Both men looked at the doctor's grave face and Rolf asked inwardly what had impressed so much a man who had been looking after men wounded in pitched battles like Leipzig before taking a deep breath and asking the question that had haunted him since one of his soldiers had awakened him. "Gudvard, will Elsa survive?"


	36. Raise to the Occasion

"Then will the Queen be fine?" Rolf asked while following Gudvard, the royal,doctor towards Elsa's bedroom.

"Fine isn't the appropriate word. She had been incredibly lucky. The wound in the abdomen hasn't affected any vital organ. Regarding the one in the neck, the assassin tried to cut her throat from ear to ear, but I suppose that she moved in the last second and the knife missed the carotids by the skin of her teeth. Anyway, she had lost a lot of blood and the wound in the abdomen awfully ached. Please, don't fatigue her too much. She needs all her forces to recover from her wounds, so the less you explain to her the better."

"I agree with you." Kai, Elsa's seneschal who was beside Rolf, said. "I suppose she is very affected and she could break down if we explain to her too much, couldn't she?"

The doctor thought for a moment before replying. "She is as strong-willed as ever. When I entered into the bedroom, Elsa sent Anna to the new harbor. She wasn't pleased, but her elder sister was adamant. I think she wanted Anna away because, when the Princess left the room, the Queen gazed at me and said that she wanted to know the truth about her wounds not beautiful words. She stated that if she had to die, she would have to do a lot of things before."

"Well, we know that Elsa is as stubborn as Anna." Rolf said.

"But I suppose that Elsa was just exaggerating to get the truth from you." Kai added.

Gudvard shook his head. "I helped in her delivery, twenty years ago, I still remember her mother's smile when I gave her the newborn. But this night, the way her eyes fixedly gazed at me made me feel as if I was the newborn. She talked about her death as if it was a pity issue, just a minor trouble to solve before working on more important things."

Kai and Rolf gazed at each other until Kai broke the silence. "What are we going to tell her?"

The commander of the guard scratched his hair. "Well. I suppose that we should tell her only the most critical points."

"Is it really necessary? I mean she had to rest. Do you have any problem that you can't solve on your own?"

"I could handle everything, but what are we going to tell her about Anna?"

Kai shook his head. "Anna's disappearance is a problem. An Arendelle's Princess can't wander alone in a night like this, she should be under the protection of her soldiers. Anna is too used to go on their own as if she wasn't a Princess."

"She isn't alone." Rolf replied.

"She is worse than alone. Captain Symonyi is a foreigner and we can't be sure about his intentions. Do you trust him?"

"Of course not." Rolf replied remembering the first time he had seen Erick at the gates of Arendlle village. After crossing the mountains on his own, he had appeared haggard, ragged and a with gaze in his eyes similar to the one which you could find in the eyes of a wolf. Later, although he had recovered and dressed properly, the gaze in his eyes remained the same.

"Even if he was proper company, riding by night is dangerous. She could fall from the horse." Kai went on.

"Don't worry about that. Anna is an excellent rider."

Kai shook his head. "Sometimes I think it is part of the problem. Did you have to train her so well? If she weren't so good rider, she wouldn't have gone with that crazy hussar."

"Anna would have done what she considered that she had to do. She wouldn't have hesitated due to a little detail as being a good rider. And I did my best training her just like you when teaching her elder sister the secrets of diplomacy."

Kai sighed before replying. "Returning to our previous subject. The less Elsa knows the better. She cares a lot for her sister and, although I taught her diplomacy, she hasn't been trained for situations like this."

"Nobody could be trained for that. When the times comes, you manage to rise to the occasion or you fail."

"Yes! But she is too young. She couldn't handle a situation like this."

"Rolf uncertainly nodded. "You may be right."

They have exchanged the last phrases in front of Elsa's bedroom. The doctor had leaned his back against the door and watched while both men agreed on what they were going to say.

"Ready?" The doctor asked and opened the door when born men nodded.

Elsa was seated in her bed reclined on a pile of pillows. She wore an icy nightgown and no blanket covered her although one was at her foot as if it had been pushed aside. The Queen looked more pale than usual and tired, but her eyes were as keen as ever.

"At last I can talk with you! I wanted to have this meeting while Gudvard was healing me but he insisted to postpone it." Elsa said with a wan smile on her face. Her voice was clear but weak.

"Don't even mention it!" The doctor said while closing the door."And why are you reclined? I told you to lie on the bed covered with the blanket. Who had brought you those pillows?

"I got them myself and don't need the blanket."

When Elsa said that, much to Rolf's relief, a mischievous smile briefly bright up Elsa's face. But in that moment he noticed a long scar running from a point in her neck, just under her chin, until behind her right ear. "Elsa, your face!" Rolf exclaimed staring at Elsa's face. The wound had been sutured by Gudvard skillfully and part of it was under the jaw-line but the rest near the ear was clearly visible.

"And I also have a bandage all around me." The Queen replied bravely as she signaled his abdomen. Gudvard has been really busy.

"And you aren't still affected by the laudanum?" Rolf asked in surprise, opium tincture was the usual anesthetic for the people who could afford it, but it produced confusion and drowsiness and it doesn't fit with Elsa's watchful eyes.

"I haven't taken anything. I would have been dazed and I need a clear head." Elsa replied. "Rolf. What's the situation in the new harbor?" The Queen quickly asked changing the subject of the conversation.

Rolf shivered at the mere idea of suturing that wound in a conscious person. After the battles, all the surgical operations were performed on drunk patients, since laudanum was scarce. "Corrado returned to the harbor few minutes after the bells chimed in the castle. I think never a lame person had run so quick. The unloading of the freighters has been stopped and everything hidden." He finally replied.

Elsa nodded before going on."Gudvard has told me the problem with my ice. My wounds make..." Elsa hesitated. "difficult to use my powers but I could try to melt the block."

The doctor was going to talk but Rolf interrupted him. "That's unnecessary Antanas, Prince Vladimiras' nephew, had a bright idea to solve that. I expect that a party will start to chase the accomplice of the assassin in fifteen minutes."

Elsa nodded hearing Rolf's words and turned towards her seneschal. "Kai. Tell me what have been the reactions of the delegates. "

"They are officially astonished and indignant. All of them await news about your condition to react. I suppose that they are too surprised and don't know what to do."

"Hasn't Lord Halkett made any official communicate." Elsa asked in surprise.

"No my Queen. He just wished for your fast recover."

"He hasn't said anything about the signature of the treaty. It is planned for tomorrow. Well, today is more correct."

"He hasn't said anything. If you just entitled me to act it in your behalf I could sign it. It's just a formal ceremony."

"And Mullon?" Elsa asked while she fixedly gazed at her seneschal.

"Both delegates, the English and the French, came together to talk with me and Mullon seconded Lord Halkett's wishes about your recover."

"Rolf, Kai!" Elsa suddenly exclaimed straining her weakened voice. "I have been wounded in the abdomen and the neck not in the head! Do you think I am going to believe that! England's main reason to hold this stupid conference could die and nobody make any movement! Nobody has told anything! I don't buy it! Kai I want the real reactions of the delegates. I'm supposed to stay in bed, but if you didn't inform me, I would go to talk with them."

"This is out of the question!" Gudvard interrupted.

"Gudvard! If you interrupt me again, I will call the guards to throw you out and the veterinarian from the stables would take care of me." Elsa exclaimed not even looking at the doctor and keeping her eyes on Kai. She started to raise from the bed, although she couldn't help giving a grimace of pain and, putting the hand over her right side, she leaned back again on the pillows.

Kai gulped under Elsa's stark gaze, but remained firm. "Elsa, he is right! You must rest. Don't worry about the delegates. I will handle them and Rolf will control the issue of the assassin. You must remain in your room and rest. If needed I will place guards on your door to ensure that." She said thinking in Gerda to watch the young Queen.

But Elsa took Kai's words in a wrong sense. She was hardly able to think straight. Due to the weakness caused by the lost of blood and the continuous dull pain she was on the verge of fainting. Their overprotection had made her feel confined and she had remembered when she had been chained in one of her own dungeons with guards at the doors and, in both occasions, Anna wasn't in the castle."And are you going to use shackles to contain me again?" She finally blown up.

Kai turned pale and stared speechless at Elsa.

"Elsa, it was Hans' idea and your own sister had put him in charge of Arendelle!" Rolf exclaimed interposing himself between Elsa and Kai.

"But he accepted the idea without hesitation and you want to make the same again!" Elsa exclaimed in rage and frustration, her hands clenched. Suddenly, She felt a sudden surge of power. An acute pain ran through her abdomen, but she wasn't able to control it.

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped and an ominous cracking was clearly heard. A sharp snowflake formed in the floor around the Queen's bed. Rolf, surprised by the sound and believing that somebody was attacking them, instinctively put the right hand on the hilt of his sword.

"No!" Kai shouted fearing that Rolf was so frightened that was going to attack Elsa. He jumped on him and grabbed the Commander's right hand with his hands, but he moved so quick that he stumbled and fell on his knees. The seneschal's left hand missed the hilt and grasped the blade of the sword, which Rolf had drawn a few inches, his blood dripped over the floor.

The vision of both men struggling for the sword and the blood on the floor snapped out Elsa of her fury. He looked to the three men, overwhelmed, frightened for a few seconds before collapsing on the pillows, sweating and panting, exhausted due to the effort and the pain caused by using her magic.

"Excuse me." Rolf exclaimed letting go of his sword. "I believed somebody was attacking us." He concluded helping Kai to raise to his feet.

"Are you all right?" Kai asked looking a Elsa while Gudvard started to bandage her left hand.

The Queen of Arendelle remained in silence for a long while, recovering from the pain and the exhaustion. Te men around her waited in silence. Elsa raised her eyes and looked at the faces around her. They looked concerned about her, but also frightened. She thought that they were loyal men and didn't deserve that. Truth to be told they had good reasons to be afraid, but a little voice inside her whispered that no matter how hard she try, a slip and she would be a monster again.

"Maybe they are right. I'm weak, tired and I can't think straight." Elsa inwardly said, but then she remembered Anna and knew that she wouldn't give in, it was too important."

"I'm sorry you don't deserve that, but it was out of my control. " Elsa finally said in a soft voice. "Please help me. The negotiations are in a critical point and I'm necessary."

"I could handle the treaties". Kai replied.

"It is very important that they can't found any crack in the treaty once it is signed."

"Yes. But I could do that, although, as you already know, I dislike those treaties."

"We will get just one opportunity and there's too much at stack to take any risk. And being the Queen of Arendelle, my signature is far more strong than yours."

"But Elsa, your injuries are serious. You could harm your self or even die, if you didn't take care of yourself." Rolf interrupted.

"And you dare to say that! You fought in several pitched battles at my father's side because he decided that the best for Arendelle was to send a group of soldiers to fight into the Sweden army during the war against France. Didn't you risk your life?"

Rolf looked confused

"I know I'm taking a risk, but It's the best for Arendelle and I will do it even if I have to do it without you." Elsa gazed at the three men around her bed. "Please. Don't force me to do that and stay at my side as you stayed at my parent's side. I need you."

Rolf looked at Kai and cleared his throat. The seneschal sighed and started to talk. "Lord Howard Halkett asked for your state, but immediately he put forward that he expected, in fact he said England expected, that somebody would be entitled to sign the commercial treaty today, if you weren't able to do it. According his own words, he wanted to save you the fatigue of a formal ceremony."

"Tell him that I will sign personally the treaty today." Elsa calmly replied empathizing the last word as she brushed a lock of hair off her forehead.

"Please, don't go to that ceremony!" Gudvard exclaimed. "If you leave your bed, your health could break down."

"I'm sorry Gudvard, but I'm going to do worse things than that." Elsa said smiling at the upset doctor

"It could be seen as a symbol of weakness." Kai said. "You would look desperate to sign the treaty."

"Or as a symbol of force. We would state that we won't yield to any thread. Please Kai, use your ability to transmit that sensation to the delegates."

"As you order my Queen." The seneschal replied.

"What have been Mullon's reaction?" She went on.

"He is also worried about what would happen to the treaty if you died. He has proposed that you could sign two copies of the treaty. So if you died before he receive Paris' approval, he could sign both copies and the treaty would be established in a posthumous way." Kai hesitated. "I'm sorry but he had used that word."

"But haven't they mercy?" Rolf exclaimed.

"We are talking about diplomacy Rolf. There's no mercy in it." Kai replied.

"It's normal that they worry about the treaty. It will ensure the control of their countries over a good deal of Arendelle's timber." Elsa said in an indifferent tone of voice.

"They will get rich with the treaties, that's their main reason." Kai replied

"Kai,You and my father taught me the art of diplomacy. Do you think I'm so naive to don't see that? They have their reasons to desire that treaty and I have mine." Elsa concealed her euphoria by the delegates reaction. It seemed they were eagerly entering into the trap which she had carefully planned.

"Tell Mullon that the treaty will be signed when we receive his country's approval not before. I'm sorry, but he must wait. Have you anything else to tell me?"

"Well, it seems relations among different factions in the imperial delegation are strained due to the attack against you."

"Why?"

"It is rumored that during a meeting, held this very night by the Empire main representatives, Duke Adrian publicly stated that if you died then his claim to your hand would be automatically transferred to your sister Anna. He based it on the fact that he claimed the Queen's had and Anna would be the Queen of Arendelle in that case. But Duke Berganza, who was also present, didn't agree and said that the initial claims should be maintained."

"Keeping my sister away of that man is reason enough to stay alive." Elsa grimly said.

"We are talking about the Empire. It is so huge and powerful that in whatever issue you deal with it you will find a faction supporting an option and, at least, another faction supporting the opposite, intrigue is a second nature to them." Kai added.

"You talk about rumors. Has the Empire made any official communication?"

"I talked with Ladislas, the Imperial delegate, and he told me that they won't made any official movement until they were sure about your definitive state. I think he is praying for your survival, since he would have a clash among both Dukes otherwise"

"I will do my best not to dash his hopes." Elsa humorlessly replied. "Tell me about the other delegations."

"The other delegations have been less active and just wait for news. "

"Thank you Kai. " Elsa said before turning her attention to the Commander of the Guard. "Rolf, is everything really fine in the new harbor?"

"Yes my Queen."

"And regarding that block of ice, are my powers needed to melt it?"

"As I told you Antanas, Prince Vladimiras' nephew, had a clever idea to solve that. In fact the Lithuanian have been quite cooperative. Prince Vladimiras had even volunteered to join the party which will chase the accomplice."

Elsa raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Really?" She asked.

"He felt obliged to act in that way since you would be his wife, if his claim to your hand prospered." Rolf went on. "I have declined his offer since this an Arendelle's internal issue although I have thanked him."

"It's a pity that not everybody has been kind enough to ask permission before meddling in Arendelle's issues." Kai stated.

"Somebody else has volunteered to chase the other assassin?" Elsa asked smiling. "I'm flattered."

"Captain Symonyi is chasing the accomplice on his own. He had his own horse in Corrado's house and didn't even asked permission. I think that Prince Vladimiras tipped him off about our lack of horses." Rolf sighed before going on. "According to the Prince, he will scout for us. " Rolf said with upset voice. "But I don't trust him and, truth to be told, I'm would prefer not to get any scout than an unreliable one."

Elsa looked at Rolf and Kai hesitating about what to say. It was obvious that both men disliked Erick's intervention and they looked at each other as if they wanted to add something. Elsa asked inwardly what could have done the impulsive hussar to upset both men so much."I think that you can trust him. He don't seem to be a puppet of Duke Adrian quite the contrary." She finally said.

Rolf and Kai gazed in astonishment the young Queen of Arendelle. "We have to tell you something more." Kai replied.

"What have Erick... I mean Captain Symonyi done?" Elsa replied trying not to smile.

"Princess Anna is with him."

Elsa took a deep breath. "But I supposed that Anna was helping Corrado in the new harbor. Isn't she? "

"In fact she never reached the harbor." Rolf replied.

"What do you mean?" Elsa said frowning and her voice trembling.

Kai felt again a sudden drop in the temperature of the room and slightly shivered while replying. "My niece gone with her and returned alone. She says they met with Captain Symonyi. It seems that the hussar convinced Anna to go with him to catch the accomplice."

Rolf cleared his throat. "I have talked with your niece and she says Anna forced the hussar to accept her."

"My niece is eight years old and she might be confused! A Princess of Arendelle joining with a foreigner to chase an assassin! Do you really believe that this is possible? "

"We are talking about Anna who, a year ago, was brave enough to left the castle on her own and locate our Queen." Rolf replied.

"Anna cannot be so irresponsible. He is a stranger! We can't be sure about his intentions!" Kai pointed.

"Kristoff was also a stranger before he helped Anna." Rolf replied, justifying Anna although he had to defend Erick.

"Prince Hans was also a friendly stranger and he tried to kill Queen Elsa and Princess Anna."

But Elsa didn't heard both man talking. Her head buzzed with he news she had received. Erick had been friendly, truth to be told his help had been invaluable, and the fact that it could harm the Empire's options in the conference didn't apparently bothered him. But she remembered Kai's words about the different factions in the Empire and the skillful use of intrigue of its diplomats. Maybe Erick had been feigning to be a friend in order to gain her and Anna's confidence. Would he been working in behalf of an Empire's faction opposed to his own stepbrother? She couldn't believe it, but somebody had tried to kill her and she couldn't take the slightest risk regarding Anna.

"Rolf." Elsa finally said. "He is a representative of another country. Treat him with the due respect, but the safety of my sister is our main priority, chasing the accomplice is a secondary point. Do whatever necessary and don't worry by any diplomatic incident with the Empire which arise. Kai and I would handle it." Elsa felt that she was being unfair with Erick, but she didn't dare to do otherwise. Rolf needed flexibility to protect Anna.

In that very moment a guard knocked at the door and informed that the patrol was ready to depart. Rolf immediately left the room accompanied by Gudvard leaving Elsa and Kai alone.

"Elsa, I'm sorry about what happened. " Kai said visibly embarrassed.

"As I told you before, it was my fault."

"I'm talking about what happened a year before. I failed you allowing Prince Hans to take over Arendelle and kept you prisoner in a dungeon of your own castle. In fact I'm still surprised because you didn't dismissed me after the coronation."

"I considered to do that."

"And why didn't you dismiss me?"

Because you loyally served my parent for long years, you taught me diplomacy, etiquette and other things after my parent's death and you guided the country in my minority when the Barons tried to strip the crown of its powers and stood by my side even in the most bitter times. Anna and I decided that it was unfair to ruin it for a decision which you took in an exceptional situation and, according to my personal opinion not shared by Anna, it might be the correct one. You had to protect Arendelle and I was a danger. You took the sensible decision."

"I didn't raise to the occasion." Kai replied realizing as he talked that he was using Rolf's words and feeling ashamed about what they had been talking before entering in Elsa's room. For a moment he understood Gudvard's words about feeling like a child. "I'm sure that, sensible or not, Rolf wouldn't have obeyed Hans against you." He finally said unwilling to accept Elsa's words.

"You can't never be sure of things like that. He hasn't family, so he wouldn't have seen her sons and grandsons about to freeze in front of him. Anyway he was out of Arendelle checking the southern border. Now, please prepare everything needed to sign the treaty with Lord Halkett."

"Are you sure that you want to sign those damned treaties?" Kai asked .

"My dear Kai. There's no way back. Please, stop trying to block them. You have to understand that they are necessary."

"Maybe I could understand them, if you explained to me what is your objective. They seem just a stupid way to disorganize Arendelle's timber commerce which is the base of our prosperity and it is difficult to do my best under such circumstances."

Elsa hesitated although she had to recognize that it was unfair to ask Kai to work so hard for a thing that he didn't understand and, truth to be told, she needed to share her burden with somebody. Finally, seeing Kai's bandaged hand decided her. She explained her schema to Kai. It took a long time and the sun entered in the room through the great paneled windows when she finished her explanation.

Elsa used the old law summary, which Anna had been reading, to expose the last details of her plan. When she finished, the young Queen raised her eyes from the book and looked expectant at her seneschal. "What do you think Kai? Could it work? "

Kai thought for a long while before replying. "It's too risky and everything depends on your judgment of the English and French delegates' personality."

Elsa nodded. "You are right, but there's no choice. We have to take the risk. When we have both treaties signed, we will discover whether it works. Today Lord Halkett will sign the treaty and, hopefully, Mullon will sign soon because If he didn't sign before the conference reach a final agreement, the treaties would be useless. "

Kai shook his head."There are too many things to take into account and the cost is too high and I'm not talking about the price of the timber."

"We have talked about that and I won't change my mind."

Elsa and her seneschal looked at each other with sadness in their eyes.

"If it worked, it would be great! The pupil will surpass the teacher." Kai eventually said breaking the silence and, although his face was grave, a hint of pride was clearly perceptible in his voice.

Elsa mirthlessly smiled."Thank you, but it has to work first." Elsa leaned her head on the pillows and closed her eyes. The meeting had depleted her scarce energies. "I will have to raise to the occasion." She muttered before going on. "A last point, ensure that Anna doesn't discover anything. She doesn't realize it, but she has the answer in front of her. Luckily, she is looking in the opposite direction."

Kay nodded."You are right. If Anna discovered that, she would fight against it with all her might. Don't worry. I'm going to put under lock and key the..." In that moment, he realized that Elsa had felt asleep. Maybe because she was so tired or because she felt relieved after sharing the heavy burden of her plan, she was sleeping like a baby.

He slowly and noiselessly walked to the door and left the Queen alone. The signature was planned in three hours and he had to make a lot of work before returning and wake Elsa. Three hours of sleep would be invaluable for the Queen before signing the treaty.

While he was going towards his office he walk past a picture of Elsa's parents. He looked at the deceased Kings of Arendelle. "I don't know if she will triumph or she will fail." He said as if the images in the picture could hear him. " But I'm sure that she will raise to the occasion."

"What are you doing? Why do you talk alone" A voice said from behind.

Kai turned to find Gerda. "I suppose I'm getting older." He replied with a faint smile on his face.

Gerda looked at him in surprise. After a week being in bad mood, Arendelle's seneschal looked oddly calm. "What had happened to your hand?" She asked noticing the bandage.

"It has been a long night and it will be a harder day." Kai calmly replied.

* * *

When Rolf went out through the gate of the keep, fifteen dragoons were already mounted on their horses. Rolf proudly looked at his men clad in their green jackets with the front part in red and the Arendelle's crocus embroidered also in red in the sleeves. They were the elite of Arendelle's army, they have the responsibility to protect the Queen when she was out of the castle, and Rolf had spent a lot of time and effort to train them.

The commander looked at the sun raising over the mountains. "We are awfully late." He thought while a sudden gust of wind, which was stronger than few minutes before, raised the tail of his jacket. "This damned wind wasn't so cold before the meeting with Elsa." He said inwardly, but he hadn't time to think about it because Antanas approached him.

"I will come with you." The young Lithuanian told Rolf.

"We don't need your help. Thank you." Rolf politely replied.

"You don't understand me. I don't want to come with you to make you a favor. I want to catch that assassin."

Rolf looked with sympathy at Antanas. "As I told your uncle before, this is an Arendelle's internal affair."

"Who got the horses which you and your men mount? "

Rolf sighed. "I suppose you have earned a horse. You can come with us." He concluded nodding.

"And my uncle and Steponas?"

"They haven't got any horse, but you can give yours to them if you don't mind staying in the castle." Rolf replied as he turned and get closer to his ..mount.

Once mounted he approached to the lieutenant who commanded the dragoons and speak to him in Norwegian. "Harald, we have to catch the accomplice, but our main priority is Princess Anna's safety." Rolf hesitated before going on. " Captain Erick Symonyi, an Imperial hussar who is clad in black and wore a silver death head on his shako, is with the Princess. He is supposed to scout for us, but his real intentions are not clear and his safety isn't a priority. Have I made it clear?"

"Yes sir." The lieutenant replied. "Is he the one who crossed our pickets during the bear hunt?"

"Yes." Rolf knew that Arendelle's dragoons didn't feel too much affection for Captain Symony. He had hurt the soldiers' pride and Rolf, as commander of Arendelle's army, had sternly reprimanded the dragoons who the hussar had evaded that day.

"He won't be so lucky today!" The dragoon exclaimed with fierce eyes.

"We are supposed not to hurt him unless it is necessary to protect Princess Anna."

The lieutenant nodded and his lips curved into a knowing smile. "Of course sir. "


	37. The Princess and the Hussar

"Ah, you are already here!."

Although they had agreed to meet in the portrait room, Von Leep, who had been studying a beautiful picture of a woman on a swing, started slightly in surprise when he heard the voice. The Imperial cuirassier, clad in his white full-dress uniform, looked at Giulio, Duke Berganza's personal secretary, who had entered unnoticed in the room.

The secretary was a short and wiry man of dark face, bright eyes and a continual smile on his face which was supposed to be friendly, but it gave Von Leep the unpleasant sensation that Giulio knew some dangerous dark secret about him. Taking into account that the secretary was said to be a close friend of Berganza the Duke of Milan, it might be truth.

"Have you talked with Duke Adrian Simonyi?" Giulio asked.

"Yes. I have given him the information you told me. He was very interested." Von Leep replied.

"Great!" The Italian exclaimed. "So he will more grateful. Are you sure that he has found the information interesting?"

"Of course he has. He hates his brother, Erick Simonyi, as much as I hate that fatuous hussar. With the contacts I have given him and his own contacts in the Imperial army, he will ruin Captain Simonyi's military career. That conceited Italian will be less proud after that."

"You aren't overfond of him." The Italian replied.

Von Leep shook his head. "He has only brought me problems. When he rejected to return with me to Vienna from the Plains, I fell from his brother's favor. But everything is solved now."

"We put a great deal of effort to obtain those contacts. Hopefully, this would restore Duke Adrian's regard for you, but remember who has helped you during bad times and where are your loyalties when the time comes."

Von Leep took a deep breath. "I will."

"I hope so. Because if you forgot that, we couldn't help if you lost Duke Adrian's favor again." The secretary said with the smile on his face still friendly.

"Don't worry for that. But I'm worried about what will happen when the Duke uses the contacts. The letters are written and signed by me, but its addressees don't know me."

"They will react as the Duke expects, we have taken care of that. Now, I have to leave now. I'm glad that, from now on, you are at our side."

Von Leep tried to conceal his lack of enthusiasm for his new loyalties while the Italian went out of the pictures room.

Once out of the room, Giulio went to Duke Berganza's chambers and entered without knocking. They knew each other from their childhood, both had played together in the Duke's castle long time ago, and that allowed him to enjoy certain privileges.

The Duke was sitting in a chair by the window reading a book. When his secretary entered in the room, Berganza raised his eyes, as he closed the book, and smiled."Have you talked with the Austrian?"

Giulio nodded. "He has keenly passed the information to Adrian. He knows that it will restore its previous place in the Duke Adrian's affections. "

"And has he the slightest suspicion about our intentions."

"No he is convinced that we are doing this just to get his loyalty."

"Von Leep's self esteem is too high. He is just a pawn in a far greater play."

"Taking into account his uniform, he would be a white one." Giulio sarcastically replied.

Berganza nodded amused. "You are right! And has our white pawn said anything else?"

"Duke Simonyi will use the information and contacts to ruin Captain Erick Simonyi's career."

"This is not news! I was sure of that, those men hate each other. So Captain Simonyi will be in the frame of mind that we need."

"Providing he doesn't get killed in that stupid adventure of chasing an assassin."

"Yes. Have you got any news about him?"

"No. A patrol led by Rolf, the Commander of the guard, searches him and Princess Anna, but they departed a short time ago."

Berganza shook his head, obviously upset."If he died, we would get a problem. He is not just a pawn who could be easily replaced in our schemes."

"Would he be a black knight perhaps?" The secretary said jokingly.

"Yes. " The Duke laughed. "Please, keep me up to date about him. I would pay a little treasure to know where our brave but stupid black knight is in this very moment." The Duke said as he looked through the nearby window as if he was trying to locate Erick.

* * *

The light of the sun already filtered through the upper branches of the trees while Anna followed Erick across a wood of birches. The last shadows of the night had already faded and the only audible sound was the murmur of the leaves moved by the wind. Although Erick tried to left a path as clear as possible behind him, Anna had real problems to go through the bushes which were thick and thorny. Finally they reached the border of the trees and the hussar knelt gesturing to Anna to do the same.

They were in a narrow valley, the last one before the great mountains. Its end was near and, after it, started a mountain path that went to a great plateau. The hussar had returned from one scouting on his own saying that he had found the encampment. Now they were trying to see it from a place from which they couldn't be discovered.

Through the branches and leaves of the bushes, Anna could see the end of the valley, where the mountains abruptly rose almost vertically blocking the way. A brook ran through the bottom of the valley among firs and birches. In the left side a low hill, with a thicket of birches on its top, was adjacent to the rock face of the higher mountains

The hill had scarps in all its sides but the one which faced them. This one was gentle and the path they were following climbed it until reaching the top. From that point forward, the path became a narrow mountain path with a rock face at one side and a precipice at the other and started its steep ascent to the plateau.

"Where is the encampment?"

"In the top of the hill behind the thicket of birches."

"If it is behind the trees, how can you see it?"

"The smoke. don't you see it?"

Then Anna realized a slender thread of smoke over the trees. "And this is the only thing that you have seen?"

"Of course not! I have gone on foot to the other side of the valley not to be discovered and I have seen him and his horse. He has chosen a pretty good place to stay. He has a good view of the approaching path, his back and flank are protected by the scarps of the hill. If he saw anything dangerous, he would disappear in the mountains to return another day and try again to kill Elsa."

They moved back to hide from anybody who could be watching from the hill.

"Then can't we do anything?" Anna asked in dismay.

"Is there any town or hamlet nearby?"

Anna shook her head. "No the people who live at this side of the mountains is concentrated in Arendelle. In the other side of the mountains, there are some little villages under the rule of Arendelle. Why do you need them?"

"I could climb the scarp of the hill." Erick said pointing at the steep slopes of the hill on which the encampment was placed.

"And wouldn't the assassin realize that you are there?" Anna asked.

"Yes. That's why I would need some kind of distraction not to be noticed. In a village, we could have asked for help. Somebody could have walk along the path towards his encampment as if he was going to the plateau behind the mountains. The accomplice would watch his approach and I could climb the slope and take him by surprise. "

"I will be your distraction!" Exclaimed Anna.

"This is not a good moment for jokes!" Replied Erick looking at Anna in disbelief.

"You know that I'm not joking. I can approach them as if I was a traveler in her way to the other side of the mountains."

"No Anna! That is out of the question." Erick replied looking at Anna in astonishment. He hardly believed what he had heard.

"Why is it out of the question?" Anna replied angrily.

"Because it is supposed that people like me protects people like you. I can't risk your life."

Anna thought for a while before replying. "But Erick, if you found a volunteer to distract the accomplice , he would take a great risk. Isn't it?"

"Yes."

"And, Since Elsa is my sister, why does he have to risk his live instead of me?"

"Anna I'm sure that any man in Arendelle would be willing to take that risk."

"I'm not talking about the opinion of any man in Arendelle."Anna replied in teasing tone. " I'm talking about my sister and I want to take the risk."

"I supposed you would have learned something after the encounter with the French cuirassier."

"You didn't intervene before because you expected that I get frightened and return to the castle. Isn't it?"

"I have to admit that there is some truth in what you say, but I was sure that you weren't in danger."

"You are a stinker!" Anna replied more amused than angry.

"Anna this is not a play. This is dangerous." Erick said returning to the previous subject of the conversation.

"They have tried to kill my sister, of course it is not a play. And stop trying to convince me! I already have an elder sister and she is overprotective enough I don't need an elder brother to do the same.

"Your elder brother is not convinced anyway." Erick replied.

"Since there are no nearby villages, the only way to catch him is to use me as bait! What else could we do? Are we going to come back and patiently wait for a new attempt against my sister."

"We will wait for Rolf." Erick replied shaking his head, but in his voice was a hint of hesitation. There wasn't any sign of the Arendelle's dragoons and the time was pressing. In fact Erick hadn't expected to find the encampment. He had supposed that the assassin would have fled long ago.

"You told me that every minute counts and we have been running like mad to reach this place. You know that waiting for Rolf is accepting that we let him go."

Erick looked towards the encampment as if he was able to see through the trees. He hesitated to involve Anna but also wanted to catch the assassin and hated the idea of returning empty handed to Arendelle.

"What could happen? He is just one and I could handle a single assassin." He thought. "Ok Anna. But I have a condition."

"Which one?" Anna asked warily.

"If I had to fight with him, you would flee immediately and return back to Arendelle. Don't look back until you reach the castle or find Rolf."

Anna was going to reply in anger but she suddenly caught herself and smiled while nodding. "All right. It is a deal."

Erick looked at the young Princess. "You are a very bad liar." He replied trying to sound stark.

"If you didn't make me stupid requests, I wouldn't have to lie."

Erick shook his head. "You are sassy enough to be my sister. Ok, let's see what are you made of." The hussar said going through the bushes to return to their previous position from which the entire end of the valley was visible.

Anna followed him while Erick started to explain his plan in detail.

" I will approach to the foot of the hill going along that brook. The bank is high enough to hide me."

Anna's eyes widened, the bank was just a few feet high slope along the brook. She hardly believed that anybody could hide using that, but she keep listening to the hussar's explanations.

"When I reach that great stone, I will make you a signal, the stone will hide me from his sight. Then you will go along the path. Do it slowly. You aren't supposed to be in a hurry and I need time to reach the top of the hill. Use my horse. If you used the trakehner, which was the horse of his comrade, he would recognize it."

"Are you going to attack him? We are not sure whether he is the accomplice.

"Don't worry. I won't fight unless I'm forced."

After saying that, the hussar disappeared through the bushes. From her position, Anna could see how Erick got closer to the foot of the hill through the brook. Anna alternately watched the hussar approaching and the thicket of birches as if she could see the man in the encampment. The hussar skillfully used the terrain to hide and the attention of the supposed watcher was centered on the path, so Erick reached the great stone smoothly and made the signal.

Anna returned through the bushes to the place where the horses waited, mounted Ice, Erick's horse, and steered the animal towards the end of the valley. When they left the protection of the trees, Anna glanced to the birches and had the unpleasant sensation of being watched. "Here we go Ice." She said kicking her horse into a quick canter.

After doing the signal, Erick left the protection of the great rock to find out that the base of the steep slope was covered by a scree. "It will be difficult to move here without making noise." Erick thought while carefully started to go through the unexpected obstacle.

When the hussar finally reached the rock face, he looked at Anna, who was already visible from the hill, riding along the path. He had hoped that Rolf would have arrived during his approach to the hill and one of his men replaced Anna. "She is really brave." Erick thought looking at the Princess of Arendelle who seemed so lonely and defenseless in the middle of the path.

He studied the stone wall in front of him. It was more steep than he had supposed, it will take a little longer to reach the top and he had already spent too much time in the scree. Erick looked again to Anna and noticed that he was moving too quickly. Erick thought that she would be nervous and that's why she was moving so fast.

"I have to hurry!" Erick thought while he stared to climb. But the young hussar stopped when he heard sounds of hooves and a voice speaking German from above."

"Hello Geoff. Have your brother returned?"

"No." Laconically replied the man called Geoff in the same language.

"I warned both of you that the snow witch could be dangerous. Why haven't you packed the encampment as I told you?"

"Emil, look at the path!" A third voice said.

"Who is he?" Replied Emil, the man who had been talking with Geoff.

"She is a woman and he had appeared in the path few minutes ago. She seems to be in her way to the other side of the mountain." Geoff replied.

"A woman alone? It's too early, she hasn't got time enough to arrive from Arendelle." The third voice replied.

"Unless she had departed from Arendelle in the middle of the night. Peter is right. I don't like this." Emil said.

Erick heard the sound of a man descending from his saddle. "How many assassins are there? And why those two had been out of the encampment." He thought while climbing as fast as possible although he knew that he wouldn't reach the top on time.

"Don't you dismount?" Peter's voice asked.

"No I prefer to remain mounted until we have solved the issue of our early guest." Emil replied."Geoff, why haven't you packed the encampment as I told you?"

"We didn't know if the snow avalanche which that damned wind has caused had closed the path to the other side of the mountains anyway."

"The way is free. But it is not a valid excuse. We have to leave this place as soon as possible and you want to delay us to wait for your brother."

"Emil!" Geoff replied in anger. "I'm tired of..."

"Why don't you stop quarreling and pay attention to our guest." Perter interrupted. "Geoff was right. She is a woman and a pretty one!"

Anna had blindly got closer to the encampment and realized the arrival of the two men when she turned a bend of the path that went around the group of birches. She looked in amazement at the encampment and the three men who gazed at her fixedly.

She hesitated about what to do, Erick couldn't fight against three men, so their plan was useless. She considered the possibility of turning her horse and run away. But that would have left Erick behind and, when the men would have discovered the trakehner, they would have searched for another person. Anyway one of the men was in his saddle, ready to pursue Anna. So she decided to go through them as if she was just a peasant in her way to a village in the plateau behind the mountains.

Anna studied the features of the men. Emil, the man on the horse, was a middle aged man, tall and hefty with a great mustache who looked fixedly at Anna's horse.

Geoff, the man who had been in the encampment from the beginning was by a little bonfire with a small pot full of boiling water over it. He was a wiry man whose eyes had a disturbing gaze.

Peter, the third man was young, maybe he was the same age than Anna, and he was the only one who smiled at her. All of them were dressed in plain but appropriate clothes to move in the wilderness.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Emil asked Anna in French as he placed his horse in the path behind Anna blocking any possible retreat.

Anna could speak French but she simulated not to understand a single word, since it would had been strange for an Arendelle's peasant to speak it, and just smiled to the three men.

"She don't understand you." Geoff said in German getting closer to Anna until he was at her side "Where you go?" He asked in bad Norwegian.

Anna keep smiling and signaled towards the mountains and the path that crossed them. She supposed that a peasant girl would be rather shy talking with three foreigners.

"She is just traveling to the other side of the mountains." Geoff said speaking again in German. "Maybe she had left Arendelle early to reach her destination before the evening."

Emil shook his head. "I don't buy it. She mounts an army horse."

"What are you talking about." Peter asked.

"Her saddle is a military model from the Empire. We have to assume that your brother has been captured and, having seen us, she could give our description to any pursuing patrol. Kill her and hide the corpse in that wood of fir at the bottom of the valley. Nobody will never found her."

Anna also spoke German and fully understood Emil's words, but she remained smiling concealing her agitation.

Geoff looked at Anna with a nasty smile on his face. "We could enjoy her before killing her. It's a pity to leave such a beauty only for the worms." He said in a dubious tone of voice.

"Geoff we are on a hurry. Kill her and don't waste more time." Emil replied angrily.

Geoff looked at Emil contemptuously. "It won't take too much" He replied. "I'm not an old man who needs a lot of time."

Seeing both men quarreling, Anna decided that she had to use that opportunity. Emil was blocking the path towards Arendelle so she spurred her horse which bolted to a furious gallop in the opposite direction. Geoff hardly managed to jump aside not to be knocked down by Ana's mount which flew along the path.

But Emil had been waiting for something like that and he quickly seized a crossbow which hanged from his saddle and aimed to Anna. She had left the encampment, but she still was at close range. The bolt hit the horse in the chest. Ice uttered a piercing whinny and fell to the ground.

Anna was trying to raise to her feet when Geoff pounced on her grabbing her left wrist.

"Bastard!" Shouted Anna slapping the man in the face with all her might.

"Bitch!" Replied Geoff punching her in the face, so strong that the Princess of Arendelle fell again to the ground. The man quickly knelt beside her and started to rip her clothes. Anna insulted the man and tried to resist, but he was too strong.

"Don't strike her so hard! I don't like women with the face black and blue." Peter jokingly said getting closer to the place where Geoff was struggling with Anna.

"There are a lot of bitches in any city. This is a stupid waste of time." Emil said more upset by the lack of discipline than by Anna's situation.

Geoff grasped Anna's neck with one hand and pinned the Princess of Arendelle to the ground. "Calm down cutie, just enjoy it." He said while tearing Anna's bodice with his free hand.

* * *

"We have found him in the path. He was going towards Arendelle, the horse comes from the castle's stable and he says he belongs to the Prussian delegation." The corporal of the Arendelle's dragoons explained pointing at the man at his was behind him, on his horse, flanked by two troopers also mounted. The young Prussian was calm and serene as if he had nothing to do with the explanations of the dragoon.

"Of course he is part of the Prussian delegation." Rolf, who was also mounted between Antanas at his left and Harald the Dragoons lieutenant at his right, said after being briefed by the corporal.

"Good morning Von Shrader." Rolf told Kurt in French.

"Good morning Commander Are you looking for something or somebody?" Kurt politely replied.

"Why are you out of the castle?"

"Private issues." Replied Kurt asking inwardly whether all Arendelle was out of the castle that particular night.

"What kind of issues?"

"As I have told you, private ones. I assure you that they doesn't concern Arendelle and I would tarnish the reputation of another person, if I said too much." Kurt replied carefully choosing his words.

"Have you met with a woman?" Rolf replied.

Kurt didn't say anything, but he lowered his eyes as if he had been discovered.

"Having being selected as a candidate for Princess Anna's hand, do you think your behavior is appropriate." Rolf sternly added.

Kurt sighed and changed the subject of the conversation. "What had happened? Why are you patrolling in the dead of night?" He asked.

Rolf studied the young Prussian expression trying to discover if he was concealing something. "Don't you know somebody has tried to kill Queen Elsa?"

Kurt couldn't help gaping at Rolf. "Of course not!" He exclaimed. "Who could be interested in doing something like that?" He asked shaking his head in disbelief.

"Have you seen Princess Anna or Captain Simonyi?" Rolf asked.

Not wanting to compromise Anna and Erick, he still believed that they had an affair, Kurt hesitated.

"Don't try to lie me. What have you seen any of them." Rolf asked noticing Kurt's hesitation.

"Yes." Kurt said reluctantly.

"Don't fear for being indiscreet about them." Antanas suddenly interrupted. "We already know that they are together."

"Then why are you looking for them? Do you suspect of Captain Simonyi?"

"They are chasing an accomplice of the man who tried to kill Queen Elsa." Rolf finally said deciding that he needed the Prussian's collaboration. "And we Have to protect Princess Anna and chase that second assassin."

"Oh my Goodness!" An astonished Kurt exclaimed, suddenly understanding the strange behavior of Anna and Erick. He quickly started to explain where and when he had found the Princess and the hussar, although he avoided to enter into details about how they have met.

"And they didn't tell you anything about the attack against Queen Elsa?" Rolf asked raising his eyebrows when Kurt finished his explanation.

Kurt shook his head. "As I told you it was a brief encounter." He replied.

Rolf nodded and went apart with Harald to talk in private.

"Do you trust him? He could have passed information to the assassins before the attack against our Queen." The lieutenant said.

Rolf shook his head. "If he and his uncle were involved in that, they wouldn't have incriminated themselves so obviously. I will believe him for the time being. Do you know the place where he met with Anna and the hussar?"

"I know the house he is talking about. If we followed the path we would make a long way round. We would have to reach the bifurcation from which departs the path to the plateau behind the mountains. But I know a shortcut before that bifurcation."

"All right Harald, guide us." Rolf commanded before turning towards Kurt." Regarding you von Schrader, you will return with two of my men to the castle and remain alone in your private chambers until I talk again with you."

"I am a Von Schrader! What are you insinuating?"

"I'm not insinuating anything. I just want to talk with you later."

Kurt shrugged accepting that, having being out of the castle just that night, it was understandable that they wanted to interrogate him. Hopefully, Alain would manage to sneak unnoticed into Arendelle. The proud cuirassier would not easily accept a situation like that. "My uncle, Count Friedrich von Schrader, will make an official complain." He surly replied.

"I'm sure of that." Rolf replied indifferently.

* * *

At last, Erick reached the top of the rock face. He had been about to fall two times and a snake had attacked him from a hollow. Erick had been forced to catch the animal with his bare hands, threw it as far as possible and kept on climbing not even worrying by any possible additional hands were bruised and bleeding and his face had got scratches from a great bush which he had gone through too quickly. But, at least, he had reached the encampment. He peeked over the edge of the escarpment and realized that he hadn't time to think up a plan. Geoff was over Anna who was shouting and fighting like a wildcat

While drawing his saber, Erick started to get closer to Peter who was the nearest one. Peter was looking at Anna and Geoff, Emil watched the path and Anna's shouts made difficult to hear anything, so Erick was confident that he would manage to approach them unperceived although they would have seen him just turning their heads.

Anna stopped shouting suddenly, but Erick couldn't worry about her. He had managed to be over Peter unnoticed. Maybe Peter heard something or somehow he felt the danger, whatever the reason, he turned in the last second, though it was too late. Erick modified the direction of his saber to struck a heavy blow in the base of the neck just over the collarbone. Peter fell to the ground with a lung exposed through a great gap in his chest and blood spraying in pink clouds when he tried to breathe.

"Alert!" Emil shouted turning his horse to face Erick.

Geoff quickly raised leaving Anna motionless on the ground and drew his sword. Both men moved out on each side of Erick until they had him completely flanked, so they would attack him from different sides.

Although Peter was out of action, Erick's situation was difficult. If both men had attacked Erick at the same time, they would have killed him, but they warily watched him, waiting for a clear opportunity. Attacking the fierce-eyed hussar and his blood-dripping saber was easier said than done and both men waited for his comrade to make the first step.

Erick gave a quick glance at Anna, the almost chocked Princes tried to raise to her feet but she was too stunned. "She couldn't flee." Erick thought focusing on the assassins flanking him. He started to retreat as if he tried to avoid being flanked. He had to move carefully to avoid stumbling with the pot over the bonfire.

Following the hussar backward movement, Geoff approached a step too much and Erick quickly kicked the boiling pot which still was over the fire towards the man's head.

Geoff let out a howl of pain when the boiling liquid splashed on his face and stepped back. Erick had already jumped on Emil. He was trying to distract one of his opponents to quickly kill the other. But the mounted man smoothly kept the distance between them, he wouldn't allow a man so dangerous as the hussar to engage him in combat without his comrade.

Even worse, Geoff recovered from Erick's attack a few seconds earlier than expected. Erick noticed the danger due to Emil's eyes who couldn't avoid looking at his comrade. Erick turned just in time to parry Geoff's thrust.

Geoff's weapon was a short blade and it was better in short distances and Erick's longer saber needed more space to be effective. So the Imperial jumped to the space behind the horse to get more space from Geoff and to force Emil to swerve his horse. Geoff's tried to stay close to Erick and use his sword like a short dagger. But a quick and unexpected lunge make him to jump backwards.

Erick heard the sound of hooves from behind and dodged by a few inches a thrust from Emil. The mounted man used a long and straight sword. Erick recognized the standard sword for heavy cavalry like cuirassiers. Erick knew that it was a 42 inches long sword which had been designed so that a cavalryman could cut down to the navel of a standing infantryman, without having to bend in the saddle. Geoff's weapon was little more than a great knife but Emil had a soldier's weapon.

They returned to the initial position with both men flanking him. Emil took advantage of the terrain and went upwards the slope of the hill, so he was in an upper position making even more difficult for Erick to reach him.

Erick realized that the situation was unsustainable. He had hoped to distract one of them and finish the other one before the former could recover. But they were too skilled to allow that. Sooner or later one of them would hurt him and that would be the end for him and Anna.

Meanwhile, Anna was trying to get her breath back. Geoff grasp have almost chocked her and she had faint for a brief moment. She lay face upwards on the grass where Geoff had left her. She slowly raised her head, unable to move quickly, and saw Erick harassed by both men. "They will kill him!" She thought and slowly started to raise while looking at he fighting men.

In that moment, Erick charged upwards the slope of the hill against the mounted man. He yelled a cry of defy and sheer desperation. Emil awaited him and Geoff started to run trying to strike Erick's back. The hussar get ready to deal Gunther a mighty blow, but, when he was about to reach the mounted man, he stumbled with a rock and fell to the ground.

Anna gasped and frantically searched for a stone or anything which could be used to defend him. Both men, Emil and Geoff, leaped on him like vultures on a dead horse, but the mounted man was closer and, stopping his horse by the fallen hussar, made a powerful lunge trying to hit Erick's head with the point of his sword. Since the hussar was on all fours, he had to bend down to reach him.

But Erick's head wasn't in the place it was supposed to be. He had feigned to stumble and, when the horse stopped in front of him, he had the opportunity he expected. Quick as a wink, he went through the space between the horse's front and rear legs. And, once in the other side of the horse with Emil bending towards the other side, he sprang upwards thrusting at him with his saber.

Emil was trying to straighten up to protect his side under attack. But he had bent down too much and Erick was too quick, the point the saber stuck in his abdomen. Instinctively he grasped the blade of the saber with his left hand.

When passing under the horse, a hoof had hit Erick's head. It had been a slight brush, but it was enough to stun him. In fact Erick was so stunned that he had blindly made the strike which had wounded Emil. He tried to recover his saber but it has cut so deep Emil's hand that it was stuck in its bones.

Even in his state Erick knew that Geoff was about to fall upon him and he hadn't time to recover his weapon. So, letting the saber go, he took his dagger, the long tartar knife with carved ivory handler which he had bet in a chess game with Rollo, the Genoese Captain, and charged against the remaining enemy trying to catch him by surprise. Erick felt that he was weak and needed a quick resolution of the combat.

But Geoff hadn't received any blow in the head and was quicker than the stunned Erick. He just dodged the hussar's attack and brutally kicked his right side. Erick fell to the ground and the assassin tried to stab him, but the young hussar caught the hand with the knife in the last second and quickly raised his armed hand. Geoff also grasped Erick's hand and both men struggled to stab the other.

Noticing that Geoff was overcoming him, Erick thrust up his knee trying to hit Geoff's crotch, but every time he moved he felt twinges of pain in his head. So his attack was a little slower than usual and Geoff easily dodged the blow.

"You bastard!" Somebody suddenly shouted.

Both man turned their heads in surprise searching the origin of the voice, but, before they could locate it, a heavy object impacted in Geoff's face. The man fell backward with his nose and several teeth broken.

Anna stood at the side of both man panting with a heavy iron pan on her hands looking at the fallen man. Geoff started to get up and Anna raised again her improvised weapon, but Erick crawled on Geoff and grasping his head with both hands hit him against the ground. The assassin finally stopped moving with Erick on all fours at his side panting and Anna also panting with the pan still in her hands.

"Is he alive?" Anna asked.

Erick nodded as he tried to raise, but stabs of pain in his head forced him to sit again."We need him alive to interrogate him." He finally said.

Anna nodded. "Are you wounded?"

"No, but my brains had doubled its size and don't fit into my skull. How are you?"

"I'm right." Anna bravely replied, but her voice trembled and her wide open eyes still fixedly gazed at Geoff.

Before going on talking, the hussar looked in dismay at Anna's badly battered face which was already swelling due to Geoff's blows. "I'm sorry Anna. My plan utterly failed. If I hadn't accepted your aid, you wouldn't have gone through that."

Anna's lips curved in a warm smile. "Our plan..." She said empathizing the first word."...encountered unexpected problems."

"But Anna, your face. This man has tried to ..."

Anna shrugged and her voice stopped trembling. "Seeing my sister bleeding in front on me was far harder."

Erick smiled at Anna's words as he pointed to her hands which still grasped the heavy pan. "You could use that as official weapon. I can imagine a row of Arendelle's guards armed with that."

Anna giggled and dropped the pan.

"Anna you don't behave like a Princess, but you really match my idea of a sister." Erick said humorously, but Suddenly he looked away and took his jacket off.

"What's the problem?" Asked Anna. "Are you wounded?"

"No. You need the jacket more than me." Erick replied handing the black piece of clothing to Anna.

In that moment the Arendelle's Princess realized that her bodice was ripped and her breasts were exposed. "Thank you." She muttered seizing the offered jacket. She put on Erick's jacket while looking how the hussar slowly seized a set of horse reins, which was on a nearby saddle, and used it to tie the unconscious Geoff.

Looking the reins, Anna suddenly remembered." Ice, your horse, is wounded."

Erick nodded and, picking up his knife, raised to his feet. He stood unsteadily with a hand on her right temple. The bandage of his head had fallen during the combat and the wound from an Arendelle's guard was bleeding again.

"They have wounded you!" Anna exclaimed approaching to Erick.

"No. A hoof slightly brushed me, but I have received to many blows in the same place." He replied looking around him until he found what he was searching for.

Emil was on his horse, one hand grasping the saddle pommel and the other holding his belly from which Erick's saber still protruded.

"He is not a danger."Erick said starting to unsteady walk towards his fallen horse.

The animal was lying on the ground. The bolt had hit its side just at the border of the rib cage and had entered under the ribs, piercing the lung. The poor animal uttered faint neighs of suffering.

Erick knelt by the head of the lying animal and patted his neck. "Easy, easy. It will finish shortly." He said as, with a quick movement of his knife, cut the throat of the animal. The body of the horse shook, but Erick calm it down brushing its mane. "It will be quick." He said to the animal which seemed to relax hearing his voice.

Anna, touched by the sadness in Erick's voice, knelt behind him and put her hand over his shoulder. "I'm sorry. It is my fault." Anna said. "I wouldn't have tried to escape from them."

"No!" Erick exclaimed. "You did the right thing. You didn't known what I was going to do, you couldn't wait and hope for the best." While saying that, the hussar kept brushing the neck of the horse which finally died.

"You were fond of this animal."

Erick nodded. "It brought me safely through fields of blood and death. Ten years ago, in a winter night, my father and I helped this mare to born. A month later, my father died in a skirmish against people from the Papal states and I was adopted by the Hungarian Duke."

Anna was going to talk, but suddenly her eyes widened. "Oh no!" She exclaimed paling.

Erick raised his eyes from the death animal to discover that Emil had finally succeed in extracting the saber from his abdomen, a real feat taking into account that he had managed to stay in the saddle, but his bowels had followed the same way and had fallen to the ground. Now his entrails hanged from his abdomen and trailed along the ground.

Erick raised to his feet with great effort and got closer to Emil. His head buzzed and he felt as if a hammer was beating his head, but held his Tartar knife in his right hand.

"Erick. Don't kill him!" Anna ordered.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to be so merciful." Erick replied much to Anna's amazement."Stay away Anna, please."

Emil's horse had approached, guided or by its own, to the border of the escarpment and the rider stared at the precipice in front of him. His eyes were glassy, but his hands firmly grasped the pommel of the saddle."Who hired you?" Erick asked in German when he was near enough.

The mounted man slowly turned his head and gazed at the young hussar. "It is difficult to scare a man in my situation. You would have to search answers in other place."

"Your friend is alive. You could save him problems." Erick replied pointing at Geoff.

"He is not my friend and he would have to go through this situation on his own."

"Have you been hired by the Empire?" Erick asked assuming that Anna wouldn't understand German. Emil's equipment had worried him and he still remembered Vladimiras' words about the Empire's possible involvement.

Anna's eyes widened with the unexpected question, but she preferred not to reveal that she could speak German.

Emil looked fixedly at Erick."Why a member of the 13th of hussars, an Imperial cavalry regiment, would meddle in a business like this if he suspects that the Empire, to which he serves, is behind?"

"That's a good question." Erick thought while looking in astonishment at Emil. "You seem well informed about the Imperial units."

"It's little surprise, taking into account that I served in the imperial army as Grenz."

"Are you an Imperial soldier?" Erick looked at the crossbow still hanging from Emil's saddle. He recognized the typical weapon of the Grenz regiments. The Croatian light infantry which served under the Imperial flags and was renowned by its skill and aim.

The man shook his head but a grimace of pain showed that even such a light movement was an agony for him. "I deserted." He finally said. "My regiment fought in the Plains and I got tired of being always outnumbered and see how we were decimated time and again, besides I dislike the Austrians and Hungarians.

"Which was your regiment?"

The man took a long time to reply. It was obvious that he was suffering greatly "I don't want to shame anybody and I'm tired of this conversation you will have to finish it with Geoff." The man took a deep breath as if he was gathering strength. "See you in hell Captain!" He said before purposefully throwing himself from the saddle to the precipice.

Erick turned towards Anna who had gasped, but his head gave a sudden sharp stab of pain worse than anything he had felt before and everything get dark while he realized that his legs didn't support him anymore.

* * *

N.A: Hi.

Of course the Grenz Infantry of the Austro-Hungarian Empire didn't use crossbows at the XIX century. They used firearms (muskets or rifles) as main weapons. But one of the issues I had to handle fitting frozen into Europe at 1848, was the lack of firearms in the film. In the whole film not a single firearm is used. The soldiers were equipped with swords, spears, crossbows and the like. I suppose that the writer rightly thought that firearms wouldn't have match in a story like Frozen.

I decided that in my story would exists artillery (cannons, howitzers...) which will menace Arendelle, but no firearms (rifles, muskets, pistols...) will be available. So it would be coherent with the film and the guns from the frigates of the English navy would force Elsa to accept the conference.

I hope that the explanations about the geography of the valley and the position of the assassins' encampment have been clear enough to make understandable the combat scene. And the same apllies to the combat explanations. The Action scenes are a bit difficult for my English level, since I'm a bit insecure about the correct words to use (I'm not a native speaker). As always any comment positive or negative will be welcomed.

See you in Arendelle.


	38. Return to Arendlle

The first thing Rolf saw, when he reached the top of the hill, was Anna, who wore a hussar black jacket, sitting by Erick who was laying on the ground with his head resting on a saddle. She had dragged the unconscious hussar out of the encampment, not wanting to stay near Peter's corpse and the pieces of Guther entrails which not had followed their owner in his tumble on the escarpment and still remained near the campfire. Anyway she was near enough to keep an eye on the tied Geoff and the heavy iron pan was at her side, ready to be used if needed.

Rolf looked in dismay at Anna's battered and bruised face. "What has he done to you? Have you needed to use that against him?" He said looking at Erick and the iron pan beside Anna.

Anna, initially confused by Rolf's words, quickly replied. "I haven't used that against him. He has defended me of three accomplices of the man who attacked Elsa. He fought alone against them killing two of them and capturing the third." Anna knew that it wasn't strictly true, but she was indignant at Rolf's words about Erick.

Rolf looked around him. He had been so concerned by Anna that he haven't even noticed the two men lying on the grass. "Where is the third?"

"He tumbled on the escarpment, but you will find pieces of him all around the encampment." Anna replied.

"Have you checked that?" Rolf asked to an Arendelle dragoon who was at Anna's side. He was one of the two men, leaded by Harald, who had went ahead the rest of the patrol to scout.

"Yes sir. There are two dead men and one tied." The man replied.

In this moment, Gudvard, the royal doctor, join them and, after getting down from his horse, approached Anna. "Princess Anna, let me examine that bruises."

"Look after Erick." Anna replied as she raised to her feet.

"But Anna you have been wounded." The doctor replied looking at the Princess face.

"These are just blows, they will heal. A hoof hit him in the head. Please ensure that he is all right." Anna said before leaving Erick with Gudvard.

Rolf dismounted and inspected the encampment with Anna who started to explain to him what had truly happened. Around them, the soldiers of Arendelle searched the camp. One soldier guarded Geoff who had already regained consciousness. Two other soldiers wrapped Peter's corpse in a blanket, which flapped with the strong wind, preparing him to be brought to Arendelle.

Anna couldn't help looking fixedly at the great wound in the assassin's chest.

"Maybe you would prefer to wait out of the encampment this is not..." Rolf started to say.

"Don't worry Rolf. I have seen it when Erick inflicted that wound on him and the sight was far worse then." Anna interrupted.

The two dragoons responsible for load Peter's corpse finished tying him onto the saddle of one horse, his head hanging from one side of the horse and the feet from the other side."Four assassins and only this bastard is still alive." One of them said nodding towards Geoff.

"Yes. But we haven't been very useful." The dragoon guarding Geoff groaned.

"People will say that we are so hopeless that Queen Elsa has to hire strangers to handle with the assassins who attack her." The third soldier added.

"We brought you another package to wrap." Harald, the dragoons lieutenant, said joining to the group. Behind him two dragoons carried Emil's body which had been recovered from the base of the escarpment.

"Is he also death?" Asked the dragoon guarding Geoff.

"You can be sure of that. He is even in worse condition than his friend." One of the dragoons carrying the body said nodding towards Peter.

Both soldiers dropped, not too gracefully, his load to the ground and all the soldiers looked at the disemboweled body.

"Maybe he is not very tall." The dragoon guarding Geoff said. "But he is the wrong person to mess with."

"If he evaded our pickets he couldn't be an ordinary man." Harald said assuming that exalt Erick will bolster the badly bruised morale of his men.

The soldiers around him nodded vigorously. "At least Queen Elsa killed the one who attacked her, that scores one for Arendelle." One the dragoons who had carried Emil's corpse added.

"You talk too much!" Harald said looking at Geoff who was sitting nearby and stared at the ground as if he wasn't listening. "Put him on the horse quickly. We return to Arendelle." Finally commanded the lieutenant.

* * *

It was the middle of the afternoon, but Erick's head was still buzzing. Gudvard, after saying that he had been extraordinarily lucky, had given him an ointment to smear on the bruise, but it hadn't relieved his headache. Now he mounted on the trakehner, the horse which has belonged to Geoff's brother, and rode just behind Anna and Rolf at the head of the patrol in his return to Arendelle.

"She has made you a great honor." Antanas ,who had just rode his horse at his side, said in Lithuanian as he nodded towards Anna who still wore Erick's jacket. Rolf had proposed him to change it by his own, but the Princess has rejected the idea.

Erick looked at the young Lithuanian in surprise. The last time they had met, three years ago, they hadn't parted in good terms. "She is too considerate." Erick replied in the same language. He hoped Anna's kind gesture wouldn't lead to another attempt to put him forward as candidate to her hand.

"Have you seen the long sword of one of the assassins?" Antanas asked warily, they spoke as two friends who haven't talked for a long time and, although they have a lot of things to say, they no longer were close enough to talk about them.

"I have noticed that one of the assassin wore an Imperial cuirassier sword. I suppose that Emil, its deceased wearer, got it from a death soldier.

Antanas nodded."It's a copy of an Imperial model, but it is a Lithuanian sword."

"Maybe, though it has been fair close to my head in two occasions, it moved too quickly to perceive the details." Erick said smiling. "Are you sure of that?"

Antanas also smiled. "The pommel wore the emblem of his owner's house. In fact I know who he was and where he died."

"Are you going to say that I killed him?" Erick replied raising his eyebrows "If his relatives wanted revenge they would have to join the end of the line."

"Almost. He was a member of my father's household troops and he died in the battle in which your regiment surrounded Lithuanian rearguard and killed my father and one of my uncles."

"Then I couldn't kill him. My squadron never entered in direct combat with the Lithuanian rearguard commanded by your father during that battle. "

"That's why I said almost, you attacked Steponas' heavy cavalry squadron from behind when he was about to break the encirclement and free them."

"Yes. That day he was wounded on the face and since then he hates me like poison. I can see that in his eyes every time he looks at me."

"He says you inflicted that wound to him."

"It's possible." Erick replied shrugging. "I use to hit in the face when fighting on horse. But that day I left almost a dozen of people with wounds like that. Steponas' men were tough soldiers and I didn't pay attention to who was in front of me."

"Anyway, he doesn't hate you by the scar on his face. His only son was with the rearguard and died defending my father and his brother. You fell upon Steponas when he was about to rescue the heir of Lithuania and his own son."

"I didn't know that." Erick replied. "He has good reasons to hate me."

"A lot of people in the Lithuanian army promised to kill you that day, not only Steponas."

"You are one of them."

Antanas nodded. "That day I challenged you to a duel."

Erick smiled. "I can remember you, a twelve years old boy, defying me."

"And you replied that you would accept to fight a duel with me when I were eighteen years old." Antanas and Erick laughed while talking as if they were explaining a funny joke.

"Well, you are fifteen years old now. May I ask you what are you going to do when the time comes?"

"Almost sixteen."

Erick nodded and raised his eyebrows in a mute question.

Antanas gazed thoughtfully at Eric's eyes for a long while before replying. "I'm not sure. That day you caused the death of my father and killed my companion, but you also saved my life."

Erick remembered the fight with Antanas' companion in the Lithuanian encampment just after the battle and how the man had died trying to protect his protege's life. All the members of the Lithuanian royal house were assigned to a companion at birth. That man was a combination of trainer, friend, elder brother and father for the young prince.

"I understand you Antanas. It's not an easy decision." Erick said.

"My uncle Vladimiras said that it was just war, but he hasn't seen his companion dying in front of him."

"I can imagine Vladimiras reaction if somebody killed Steponas." Erick replied. "I can't help you to decide Antanas. But I will be at your disposal in two years' time."

"Thank you. Could you do me a favor?"

"Of course Antanas." Erick replied, the Lithuanian had aroused his curiosity.

The young Lithuanian seemed embarrassed."Could I take the sword to return it to it's owner's family? They will be grateful."

"Of course you can, but you must also ask Princess Anna's permission."

"Why? You killed the man who wore it. Didn't you?"

"Yes. But she also was there and not just watching. Don't worry, if you explain your reasons she will grant you the sword."

In that moment the patrol reached the ridge and caught sign of Arendelle at the base of the mountain. Anna was so thrilled by the perspective of seeing Elsa that she put her horse on a full gallop leaving a surprised Rolf behind.

"Anna! What are you doing?" The commander of the guard exclaimed.

"I want to see my sister." Anna replied not even turning her head.

Rolf snorted."Harald, go with her!"

Erick and Antanas smiled looking at Anna. "She isn't a typical Princess." Antanas said.

"You can be sure of that. She is far more than the typical Princess." Erick laughed.

* * *

"This treaty will consolidate the relations and the common prosperity of our countries." Lord Howart Halkett said while putting an intricate signature at the bottom of the document.

"And peace." Elsa added after signing the other copy of the treaty.

The arrangement of the council chamber had been changed for the occasion. The great chair reserved for the Queen of Arendelle or her representative had been moved to the center of one of the longer sides of the great table. The other chairs had been removed but one in front of the Queen's chair. Elsa and Lord Halkett were seated in that chairs.

"Your concern for Arendelle's people is a gesture to be proud of." Lord Halkett pompously replied.

Elsa inwardly smiled. Kai, who stood at her right, had told her that her care to involve England and France in the treaties, as an apparently desperate way to ensure peace, had been seen as a sign of weakness and fear, giving rise to cruel jokes. Some of the worse ones had been made by Lord Halkett.

"Thank you Lord Halkett. You are a true friend." Elsa replied with her most grateful tone of voice as she raised her eyes from the document.

While Kai and the personal secretary of Lord Halkett picked up the already signed treaties, Elsa looked at the English representatives. Lord Halkett was obviously pleased, at his left Allan Halkett wasn't able to conceal a contemptuous gaze in his eyes, Collin Halkett, clad in his red uniform, remained impassive behind them as if he had been sculpted in marble.

After the English delegation had left the council chamber. Elsa sat and took a deep breath.

"Are you all right?" Kai asked worried.

"I'm fine, just a little tired, selling my country so cheap is extenuating." Elsa replied smiling.

"Time will said if we are wise people or fools" Kai replied.

Elsa slowly nodded. She felt very tired and her side ached. "Do you know if Mullon has received permission from Paris to sign the treaty?"

The seneschal shook his head. "The courier ship hasn't arrived to any nearby port. We have to wait."

Elsa meditated for a long while. "What do you think about the deadline of two days? Would Mullon accept a compromise before signing the treaty with Arendelle."

"Halkett is strongly leaning on the French delegate to reach an agreement as soon as possible. The Englishman already has what he wanted."

"And do you think that he had convinced Mullon? Or it is just a bluff to put more pressure on the Frenchman."

"It is possible. Maybe Halkett has assured Mullon that the French treaty will be allowed and respected even after your marriage is decided."

"But that would be useless for us. If they reach an agreement before the signature of the French treaty we would be in their hands."

"Of course, but, according to my information, they have already reach an agreement about the candidates, I fear that they only have to come to an agreement on minor details.

"Really?" Elsa raised her eyebrows and looked at Kai inquisitively.

"The English has imposed Prince Vladimiras, his candidate, to marry you and Anna would marry the Imperial candidate to her hand, since the French is giving his support to him."

"Are you talking about Filippo the count of Verona? The one who was so obviously pleased after my murder attempt because Anna would become Queen of Arendelle, if I died."

"That one my Queen."

"I have been the lucky one in the sharing out." Elsa said wincing.

"Taking into account that Duke Adrian Simonyi seems to have been discarded as candidate to your hand, you are absolutely right."

Elsa nodded as she tried to imagine herself kissing the intelligent and impressive Prince Vladimiras.

"Do you feel fine?" Kai asked.

"Excuse me, Kay." Elsa replied stopping daydreaming.

"There was anguish in your eyes."

"Don't worry." Elsa replied as she brushed a lock of her hair off her forehead. "According to our calculations, the courier ship will arrive today or tomorrow. So the treaty with France will be signed in time."

"Providing that Paris accept the treaty." Kai pointed out.

"Why wouldn't they accept it? Prepare the treaties. When the courier ship arrive, I want them signed as soon as possible.

In this moment a guard entered in the room after knocking in the door. "Queen Elsa. Rolf's patrol is returning.

"Is Anna with them?" Elsa eagerly asked while she started to rise to her feet, but she moved too quickly and had to sit again with her hand on her side. She had just recovered when the door flew open and Anna, who had quickly crossed Arendelle village and reached the castle far before than the rest of the patrol, went into the room.

"Elsa you face!" Anna exclaimed in surprise seeing her sister pale face and the scar on her right cheek.

"What about your face!"Elsa retorted, when she saw Anna's badly bruised face, ignoring her comment. "Anna what the hell were you thinking when you decided to play soldiers? And why are you wearing that stupid jacket?" Elsa exclaimed in her most rebuking tone of voice.

But Anna looked in delight at her elder sister. "You can even admonish me that means that you are fine!" She finally replied with a broad smile on her face.

"Anna this is serious. You could have been..." Elsa started to say, but she was interrupted by Anna who embraced her.

"Anna please, this is not a joke." Elsa exclaimed, but she went quiet when she realized that Anna was crying with happiness. She looked at the tears of joy which slid down Anna's checks and, with a final sigh of surrender, Elsa finally give up and also embraced her sister.

Even Kai couldn't help smiling at the confused expression of Elsa, who had discovered how difficult was to rebuke somebody that was so delighted being admonished and left the room, accompanied by the guard, leaving both sisters alone.

* * *

Rolf entered into the council chamber closing the door behind him. He could see that he had interrupted both sister in an interesting moment of their conversation. Anna was giggling and Elsa couldn't conceal her amused bewilderment

Rolf looked at them. The Queen was sitting in her great chair with her sister at her right in a chair which has been brought for her. Anna had changed his clothes and Elsa wore her usual ice dress. Both sisters seemed happy and unconcerned as if nothing had happened, but Rolf couldn't help being fully aware of Anna's bruised face and Elsa's scar on her cheek, clear reminders of last night events.

Rolf sighed and started to talk. "I'm sorry to interrupt you but Kurt von Schrader want to talk with you." When the commander of the Guard had reached the castle, shortly after Anna, he had gone to the council room to brief the Queen about the results of the patrol although Anna had already explained the most important parts.

After having finished his explanation, he had been instructed, at Anna's request, to let Kurt go from the confinement in his own room. The Queen has agreed since she supposed that the Prussian wouldn't have been so clumsy to be out of the castle that very night if he had been involved in the attack against the Queen.

"Have you told him that he is free?" Anna asked.

"Of course I have. But he said it is very important to talk with both of you." Rolf replied.

Elsa nodded. "I guess what they want to say. Bring him here."

"Elsa are you sure that it's sensible to talk with him now. You should go to your bed and rest." Anna said, vigorously supported by Rolf's noddings.

"Don't worry for that Anna. Please Rolf, fetch him." Elsa replied.

Once Rolf had left the room, Elsa turned her head to look at her sister. "Are you sure? I would have never thought that about Kurt."

"I didn't see them but Erick told me that he saw Kurt and the French cuirasseur together and I trust him, so don't worry about Kurt he is innocent."

"I have to recognize that, sometimes, receiving so many different people in Arendelle is quite interesting."Elsa giggled. "Poor Kurt, he chose the worst night."

Gerda entered in that moment carrying a try with water and glasses. Both sisters went quiet and smiled at the old servant.

"I'm really glad to see you safe and sound Anna." Gerda said with a broad smile on her face.

"Thank you Gerda." The Princess replied.

"You have to talk with your sister about her hairdo. If she wore her braid over the right shoulder, the scar wouldn't be so visible."

Anna winced at the mention of Elsa's scar. "She is right Elsa. It would be still visible but it wouldn't be so obvious."

"I prefer that they see it. If we are in an auction the clients must see the state of the product." Elsa bitterly retorted, her mood utterly changed.

Gerda gulped. "Please don't talk like that!" She replied as she left the room.

"She is going to fetch soap to wash your mouth out." Anna said trying to make a joke.

But Elsa leaned back on the chair and put her hands over her temples. She was tired and the pain at her side intensified by the minute.

"Why did you say that?" Anna softly asked, when she realized that Elsa wasn't going to reply to her joke.

"Because it is the truth. I want that those men see what they had caused. They wouldn't give a damn anyway, but I'm not going to help them to ignore it." Elsa bitterly said.

Anna was touched by Elsa's bitterness. "Elsa, I..." Anna started to say, but she was interrupted by Rolf who went into the room with Kurt von Schrader.

"Thank you Rolf." Elsa said. "You can leave."

"Rolf didn't seemed pleased, but he just nodded and left both sisters alone with the Prussian.

"First of all."Elsa said once alone. "I want to beg your pardon for your confinement and by Rolf's manners if he hasn't been polite enough. We were in an emergency and extraordinary situations need extraordinary actions."

"Don't worry for that! I haven't come here to talk about my confinement or Rolf's manners." Kurt replied looking in surprise both sister's faces. "I'm sorry for what had happened to both of you." Kurt said, unable to look away from Elsa's face and the scar in her left cheek. "It's like a slash in a Renaissance picture." He thought inwardly.

Suddenly the young Prussian realized that he was looking too fixedly at Elsa's scar. "Excuse me, I didn't want to..." Kurt said obviously embarrassed.

"Don't worry Kurt. Then, what do you want to talk about?" Elsa replied.

"I suppose your sister has explained to you in what situation we met last night."

Elsa slowly nodded. "And she has also explained to me who was with you. That's why you have been released without further questioning, but I don't understand why you want to talk about it."

"Don't treat me like a fool Queen Elsa! I have experience enough as diplomat to know where I am." Kurt surly replied. "I'm a candidate to your sister hand and you have been getting rid of us. Now, if you make last night events in the house in the middle of the forest public, you will reduce my candidature and my uncle's expectations in this conference to ashes."

Anna was going to reply, but Elsa stopped her squeezing her arm.

"You are right, but why do you explain it to me? If I haven't any doubt about the viability of this schema you have just dispelled it" The Queen asked.

"Because I want to offer you a pact to don't involve Alain, the cuirasser who was with me, in that. If you just accused me of crimes against nature which make me unacceptable as husband for your sister then I would accept the charges. So you will get rid of the Prussian candidature as you tried a few days ago making a pact with the French."

"I don't understand why you are so afraid. A few days ago, you said to me that getting rid of my candidates was useless." Elsa replied.

"Because you were paying a prize too high. But now this you don't have to pay anything to get it."

"And why don't you talk with your uncle and just reject my hand? It will be a better solution." Anna asked confused by the young Prusian's elaborate schema.

"My dear Anna, because your sister is fully aware that this would only nullify my candidature. My uncle would choose another candidate, he had done it before. Accusing me, Elsa will destroy any possible Schrader's candidature, our prestige would be tarnished for decades. It's the best move she can do!

Elsa nodded. "The best move! It's like a chess game. Isn't it? Once we make the first move we have to make the best possible move, no matter the cost for the figures." She sadly said.

"Just like that. You have defined diplomacy. But with my offer you will obtain the same and, as I will accept the charges, everything will go faster. Please don't ruin the future of an innocent. He would be expelled from the army in dishonor."

"You are in love with that man!" Anna exclaimed in surprise.

Kurt couldn't help smiling at Anna's comment. "No, I met him a few months ago in Paris and I hadn't remembered his existence until I encounter him at the beginning of the conference, but he is a good chap and doesn't deserve to be entangled in that just because I'm playing the diplomat." Kurt quickly replied."

"You are very protective with him." Elsa asked, intrigued by Kurt's reasons to act in such a way.

Kurt shrugged. "You wouldn't understand it."

"Please, try."

Kurt sighed. "Because we are in the same boat." He hesitated before going on, but he felt that, anyway, he was already condemned. "Do you know what it means to be always under the threat to be hated and your entire live ruined just for being different? Just for something that is part of you and you can't change? I am condemned, but I don't want to bring with me Alain's future prospects." Kurt stopped talking, embarrassed, with the awkward feeling that he had said too much. "Queen Elsa if you fear that I'm trying to deceive you, I could sign a declaration accepting the charges." He finally added.

"I have had enough signed papers today." Elsa thought feeling suddenly tired of the play of cat and mouse she had been done with Kurt to wheedle information about his motivations out of him. "We are not going to use that against you." She finally said.

"I don't believe you." Kurt replied fearing a subtle maneuver.

"As far as I'm concerned, last night, you were with a woman, as Rolf suspects, and we don't have to talk about that anymore. We will make a formal protest to your uncle about your improper behavior, regarding women, and he will formally accept it."

"Why are you going to do that?" Kurt asked, confused.

Elsa was very tired, but she realized that she needed to answer the Prussian's question. "I don't know in other places, but here in Arendelle you are not a chess piece and, believe me, since the first day I discovered my powers, I fully understand what means to be different due to something that I cannot change." Saying that the Queen left the room followed by her sister. Kurt remained alone in the room looking at Elsa's empty seat for a long time before he started to believe that his live wasn't ruined after all.


	39. The Prisoner

"Are you all right?" Anna asked to her elder sister.

Elsa who had leant on Anna's arm when they have left the Council chamber, slightly nodded. "I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired."

"You should be resting in your bedroom." Anna said.

"You are talking just like Kai, Rolf and Gudvard." replied Elsa stiffening and letting go Anna's arm. "Kai has even delayed the meeting almost three hours with a minor protocol excuse to let me sleep."

"Well done! You don't have just a minor fever. I will bring you to your bed and put a guard in the door if necessary. And I will put soldiers not just Gerda."

Elsa lower lip protuded in a sulky pout.

"Am I to go to the dungeons to look for manacles?" Anna said looking at Elsa in defiance.

Elsa sighed. "I fact I want to go there."

"To your bed?"

"No! To the dungeons. I want to fetch some things."

"What things? Why don't you send a servant?" Anna asked in surprise.

"Because I still don't know what I want. I will tell you in the dungeons. After that, I will obediently go to my bed as a good girl, I promise."

Anna looked in disbelief at her sister. "And you will stay in your bed the rest of the day?"

"Yes. I need to rest because tomorrow I have to visit the Ice Palace"

"You want to go to the North Mountain! Are you crazy?" Anna exclaimed. "You aren't in conditions to go so far."

"Of course I'm! I will be better tomorrow."

"And death the day after." Anna retorted.

"Anna, in two days the delegates could reach a final agreement and I don't know what will happen. Maybe I will have to leave Arendelle immediately and I want to see them before."

"Are you talking of Olaf and Marshmallow?"

Elsa nodded. She had another reason to visit the Ice Palace, but Anna shouldn't know it. The visit had been planed long ago, but had been delayed for one reason or another and then, with the unexpected perspective of an early resolution of the conference, it had become critical.

Anna grimaced, he was obviously upset by the idea of such travel in Elsa's state. "Ok Elsa, but I will go with you and I will organize everything. Accept that or I fetch the manacles."

"I'm your Queen." Elsa replied in commanding tone of voice.

"I'm your sensible sister." Anna retorted, not giving ground.

"My sensi...!" Elsa started to reply but she stopped talking and, after hesitating, nodded. "Ok Anna. Do it your way" She finally said while starting to walk towards the stairs which leaded to the dungeons. Anna moved at her side and forced her to lean again on her arm. The queen snorted but accepted her sister's help.

"Don't you mind I haven't used the information we have against Kurt? " Elsa warily asked when they started to go down the stairs.

"You told me that I could marry the man I choose. Has it changed?"

"No, although thinks could go wrong. But I couldn't do that against him." Elsa finally said lowering her eyes.

Anna shrugged. "Don't worry, I understand you. Anyway he is the best of the possible candidates." She replied apparently unconcerned while helping her elder sister to go down the stairs.

* * *

"Of course I'm not proud of Princess Anna state, but I have done my best to protect her and, although she is badly battered and bruised, she is alive." Erick said with irritation.

"What would you think about a doctor that stabs you and, later, bandages your wound?" Corrado scornfully replied .

Erick had been unsuccessfully trying to Find Ladislas. He wanted to get his permission to return to the Plains as soon as possible, although he wasn't sure how he would manage to force him. Unable to even found the Imperial, he had finally gone to Corrado's chamber in the castle, a little room full of plans and mockups of the different projects he had worked out for Elsa, to get information about the one-armed diplomat's whereabouts.

Much to Erick's displeasure, Corrado informed him that Ladislas was in a meeting trying to get the best possible deal once Queen Elsa's survival had been confirmed. Even worse, the Italian engineer started to reproach him for allowing 45Princess Anna to take part in the chase of the assassins.

"A fool. You would think that such a doctor is a fool." Corrado concluded.

Erick sighed in despair. The severe headache he was suffering didn't improve his mood. "But the assassins won't attack again Queen Elsa."

"It's easy to found an assassin willing to try if you put money enough in front of him."

"There is a prisoner. I'm sure that Arendelle's soldiers are interrogating him and they will find out who hired them" Erick replied.

"He wouldn't get him to talk."

"I'm sure that he wants to keep the secret to avoid the revenge of the person who hired him, but Arendelle's soldiers will be quite persuasive."

"According to Queen Elsa's orders the prisoner must be treated without violence of any kind. He will be interrogated, but I'm sure that Arendelle's guards won't get anything. As you see, you has uselessly risked Anna's life." Corrado stated.

Erick was going to reply in a non very tactful way. When Rolf entered into the room.

"Corrado, maybe you could...Ah! Hello Captain Simony." He said.

"Hello Commander." Erick replied, happy to put and end to the conversation with Corrado."

"How is your head?" Rolf friendly asked. He had mistrusted the young hussar, but, under his point of view, a man who confronted three men to defend Anna couldn't be so bad after all.

"Somebody is still hammering on it." Erick replied with spirit, surprised by Rolf's friendliness.

"It should hammer stronger." Corrado said. "So you wouldn't do such a stupid think again."

"Don't be so hard with him. Everybody has been young, even you!" Rolf laughed. "And he has caught a prisoner for us, not all the guest brought such fine presents."

"Regarding the prisoner." Erik said encouraged by Rolf's new friendliness. "Corrado has told me that he will be treated with kid gloves even when interrogating him. Is it true?"

Rolf hesitated a second before answering the question. The prisoner was a state matter, but, since Erick and Anna had captured him, the Commander of the guard granted to the hussar a certain right to know about him and even Elsa had said that Erick wasn't Duke Adrian's puppet. "Queen Elsa don't want our men to be too harsh with him."

Erick sighed, he had feared something like that of the idealistic and unrealistic Elsa. "Until reality bring her to her knees." He thought. "Why don't you try threatening him. I have seen people breaking just with well constructed menaces." He suggested.

Rolf shook his head. "He knows how we treated Prince Hans after he attacked both sisters. He just don't buy that any Arendelle soldier could harm him. He had even teased at me when I started to interrogate him."

"Hans is a Prince from Westergard and Geoff is a low born assassin." Erick gestured to stop Rolf's reply. "I knew that it is not important for Queen Elsa, but maybe you could make him believe that he won't be treated as Hans." Erick said but Rolf shook his head.

"This is not my business anyway." Erick thought, but then he remembered Corrado's words about him uselessly risking Anna's life and Geoff pinning her against the ground."Could I try?" He asked, driven by a sudden inspiration.

"Excuse me?" Rolf asked, confused.

"I've got and idea which could work, I'm good enough tricking people. It is based on the fact that I'm not an..."

"And you are also good getting in trouble." Corrado interrupted. "Rolf don't even listen to him".

Rolf gazed at Erick's eyes. They were again the eyes of a wolf, but now Rolf was sure that that wolf would bite in the right direction. The commander didn't like the idea of relying on a stranger, even a trusted one, to interrogate the prisoner, but remembering the badly battered faces of both sisters and the sneering tone of voice of the prisoner decided him."Would you keep secret whatever information you obtain?"

"I will, provided that Arendelle will be discreet about my involvement." Eagerly replied Erick.

"Erick this promise will cause trouble for yourself." Corrado implored.

"This is my business." The hussar replied, keeping his eyes on Rolf.

"Wouldn't you harm him?" Rolf went on.

"So important is his health for you?" Erick asked, his voice laced with irony.

Rolf shook his head. "Queen's orders. I want to state that Elsa's orders must be respected."

"You will be watching what I do with him. When you say 'Enough Erick', I will stop."

"Do you promise that?" Insisted the Commander.

"I promise that I will be able to stop if you are able to say that words."

Rolf grimaced as if he had been caught in fault. "I always say you never know what are you capable of until you try." Rolf finally said. "Convince me that you can do it while we go down to the dungeons."

Both men went out of the room while Erick started to explain his plan to Rolf.

"Am I the only one who hasn't lost his senses?" Corrado complained while following them.

"Your comments are useless." Erick replied, his voice laced with irony, before going on with his explanations to Rolf.

* * *

"Are you going to watch him for a long time?" Anna asked her sister.

They had gone to the dungeon where all the things found by the patrol had been stored. Both sisters had searched for almost an hour among the different objects that the Arendelle dragoons had found in both encampments of the assassins. Finally Elsa had left apart some objects to be brought to her private chambers.

When they were about to leave the dungeon Elsa had gone closer to three forms covered by blankets which were in the middle of the room and delicately removed the covers revealing the corpses of the three dead assassins.

After that, Anna's sister stood in front of the corpse of the one who had tried to kill her looking fixedly at him.

"He is death because I lose the control of my powers and I want to be sure that I remember that." Elsa finally said answering Anna's question.

"You worry yourself too much, he tried to kill you!" Anna exclaimed.

"And does that give me the right to kill him when I had other options? If I had controlled my powers, I could have stopped him in a thousand ways and he would be still alive."

"You lost control because he had hurt you before. It was some kind of justice."

"Justice is not blindly return what you had received." Elsa retorted.

"He tried to kill you. I'm not going to be happy with his death, but I'm not going to weep for him." Anna replied.

"I regret the way he has died. If I don't control my powers, they will easily kill anybody and maybe the next time a beloved one will be the victim." Elsa turned his face and looked at the corpses of Peter and Emil who were beside the first. "I see that Captain Simonyi doesn't share my inhibitions about killing people." Elsa said grimacing at the sight of Emil's mangled corpse."

"Erick had no option and..." Anna was interrupted by desperate shouts that came from outside the room.

"What is this?" Elsa asked.

"Somebody is asking for help in German." Anna said, trying to recognize the voice which sounded familiar.

* * *

"Good evening." Erick said in German when he entered into the dungeon where Geoff was confined.

The assassin, who was sitting on a stone bench by a window with his elbows leaning on a table, didn't replied to his salutation and just eyed him warily.

Erick closed the door. "It has been difficult to get permission to pay you this little visit. They worry a lot about you." Erick said dismissively.

"Little soldier, if you want information, I'm not going to say anything." Geoff replied with a contemptuous smile on his face.

"I understand you, but I have been instructed by my Imperial superiors to get information from you and I always obey them." Erick smiled. "You should know it since the last order I received from them was to nullify the group of assassins who had tried to kill Queen Elsa and spare one of them."

"Fuck you! I'm a prisoner of Arendelle and the Empire doesn't have any power here."

Erick burst out laughing "I'm going to be straightforward. The Empire has dedicated a lot of efforts to ensure that one Imperial Duke will marry with the Queen of this petty kingdom. If Queen Elsa died all this time and resources would be wasted since Princess Anna is bound to be married with an English puppet."

Erick smiled at Geoff before going on. "Do you believe that the Empire will be refrained from protecting its own interests? "

"Arendelle is an independent Kingdom." Geoff replied, obviously uneasy.

"My single Imperial regiment has more soldiers than the entire army of Arendelle." Erick replied harshly. "The man who will marry Queen Elsa holds a Duchy which is far more extensive than the entire Kingdom of Arendelle. Even my little county in Italy is greater." Erick said, laughing at the last phrase.

Geoff didn't replied but the contemptuous smile had completely disappeared from his face.

"The Imperial Duke who will marry Queen Elsa is Adrian Simonyi. Do you know who he is?" Erick paused for a few seconds before going on. "He is the man who, during the war against Lithuania, ordered the entire army to kill any member of the Lithuanian royal house who was captured and decreed that the lineage should be wiped out, four sons of the Lithuanian King and several young grandsons died at our soldiers' hands or by our assassins."

"Why are you explaining that to me?" Geoff replied fruitlessly trying to be defiant.

"Because I want to make clear to you that Duke Simonyi, having been able to command the assassination of members of a royal house, will not care for what happen to a little scum of the earth like you who surely doesn't know the name of his own father." Erick said scornfully. "House Simonyi isn't considered to be kind to their enemies. Tell me who hired you and your comrades to kill Queen Elsa. You would save yourself a lot of suffering and I wouldn't have to wash my clothes, I hate blood stains."

"I don't know that. Only Emil knew who hired us." Geoff answered.

Erick shook his head. "It's a pity because, although I believe you, Duke Simonyi won't accept this. I will have to torture you to death. Once you are dead without saying a word, he will be convinced that you didn't know it."

"You won't dare!" Geoff exclaimed.

A broad smile appeared on Erick's face. "Shout as loud as you can, nobody will come. The Empire is behind me and Arendelle has politely stepped aside. Do you believe that a minor Queen will stand against the power of the Empire?" While Erick said that, he drawn his long Tartar knife. "Have you never seen what a knife like this can do to a man if you have a bit of patience? The Tartars used to torture my scouts when they caught one. You don't know how much you can learn just burying your men."

Geoff didn't replied but he keep her eyes on the foot-long knife. Erick decided that it was time to raise the stakes.

Without any previous advice, the hussar grabbed Geoff's right hand with his left one and pinned it against the table. Geoff tried desperately to rip his wrist out of Erik's grasp, but the hussar, slashed at his hand too quickly. Geoff yelled in pain, his little finger was connected with his hand only by a little strip of flesh and hanged like a strange earring put in the wrong place.

"Well. You have managed to get free." Erick said with feigned surprise.

"Crazy bastard! What are you doing!" Geoff howled while looking at her almost amputated finger while curling up in a corner of the room.

"If we are going to do it by the hard way, I don't want to deal with a man who can strike back. So I will cut the fingers of your hands. Don't shout so loud this is just the beginning. The best is to come." In fact, Erick had planned to let go Geoff's hand and only make him a slash, just to scare him, but, when Erick had loosened his grip over Geoff's wrist, the man had moved in the wrong direction. Anyway Erick was resolved to use the fear of the assassin due to his accidentally amputated finger to his own advantage.

"Is there any cloth?" Erick said looking around him."I don't want to stain my clothes with all this blood." Erick said looking at the blood in the blade of his knife.

"Help! He is crazy! He is going to kill me!" Geoff shouted terrified.

"Where the hell I could find one." Erick said, his eyes slowly searching the room for a cloth. He wanted to give time to Geoff to get frightened. He only feared that Rolf interrupted the performance, but the commander was being surprisingly patient.

"Hey! The guards in the door, do you have a rag?" Erick asked looking towards the door of he dungeon.

"No." Rolf's voice instantly replied.

"Rolf is quick of reflexes." Erick thought, if the Commander's voice didn't make it clear that nobody would come to help the prisoner, nothing would convince Geoff.

The ruse seemed to work since Geoff stopped shouting and stared at Erick with fear on his face.

"I suppose that you don't mind if I use your sheets." Erick said purposefully going closer to the bed in the other corner of the room. "You aren't going to able to use them tonight anyway." Erick added while ripping a strip of cloth and cleaning the blade with it.

Geoff gazed at him speechless.

"Well. Are you going to keep still or have I to call for help. Maybe two Arendelle guards would be kind enough to restrain you." In that very moment the door of the dungeons opened behind Erick. He supposed that Rolf was coming in to make more convincing his little play, but the relieved expression in Geoff's face told him that something was wrong. He slowly turned to face the Queen of Arendelle who stood in the door sternly looking at him.


	40. Collision

Elsa entered into the room and went closer to Erick, her expression was calm, but her eyes gleamed with anger. Behind her, Anna came in followed by Rolf and Corrado. Two guards also entered moving at a Rolf's gesture to guard Geoff.

"Captain Simonyi what are you doing here? Didn't you know what I have ordered about how prisoners must be treated in Arendelle?" The Queen asked in loud voice right in front of Erick. She spoke French, but instead of her perfect intonation, she talk with a thick Norwegian accent.

"I knew that. But I thought that there was too much at stake to be excessively polite. " Erick replied barely controlling her exasperation by the lost opportunity. He could have explained to Elsa that everything was feigned, but doing that in front of Geof would have thwarted any future option to interrogate him.

"And you thought that we need the Empire to learn how we have to act in this situations. That's very kind of you." Elsa sarcastically replied.

"Queen Elsa I only need thirty minutes alone with that man."

"And would you drag him to the other room with his comrades?" Replied Elsa in an even more sarcastic tone of voice.

"He helped the man who tried to kill you. He would have raped and killed Anna. He doesn't deserve your pity."

"I don't feel pity for him. I don't know what would you do in your great Empire, but here in Arendelle we are not beasts, we are not like him." Elsa hesitated as if she didn't find the words. "You aren't better than one of them." Elsa finally added getting angrier at every word and going closer at Erick as if she was about to throw him out of the room just pushing him.

"Elsa please don't..." Anna started to say but Erick interrupted her.

"Elsa this is not a game or a beautiful faerie story! This man would have tried to kill you and almost killed your sister!" Erick replied almost shouting although his face was very close to Elsa's face.

"Do you dare to talk about games! You risked my sister's live as if you were in a children game?" Elsa replied also shouting and looking at Erick right in the eye.

Elsa's reply took Erick aback and he didn't answered, his fury finally tamed by Elsa's harsh recrimination. After the acrimonious dispute both breathed quickly and their pants were the only noise which was heard in the room. Everybody looked in astonishment at them. The two guards had never seen their Queen in such state of anger and Erick's tone of voice made them hesitate over whether they must guard Geoff, who was curling up in a corner of the room, or watch Erick. Even Anna gaped in astonishment at Elsa. She also had never seen her sister so furious in public.

"With your permission Queen Elsa I will leave." Erick finally said, he talked with difficulty as if it was hard to pronounce the words or the mere idea of leaving.

Elsa just nervously nodded giving her acquiescence.

Rolf went with Erick to the door patting his shoulder and Anna got closer to her elder sister who turned her head following Erick with her eyes. She could tell that Elsa was puzzled and, for a second, she thought that her elder sister was about to told Erick something.

But in that moment Geoff took advantage of his guards' distraction who still were watching Erick instead of the prisoner. He jumped, seized the dagger which hanged from the belt of one of his guards and pounced on Elsa. "Witch, you killed my brother!" He shouted.

Anna realized what was happening and moved forward to interpose herself between Geoff and Elsa, but the Queen, who was utterly caught by surprise, was just in front of her still looking at Erick and blocking Anna's path. Realizing that she couldn't move quick enough to go around the Queen, Anna tried to catch Geoff's armed hand moving her own arm over Elsa's shoulder, although she knew that she wasn't strong enough to stop Geoff in such a position.

Impotent, Anna saw how Geoff raised his hand to stab Elsa who just had started to turn realizing that something was happening. The guard's dagger, with the crocus engraved on the hilt started to descended towards Elsa' back.

"No!" Shouted Anna, but there was a sudden gush of blood, a red jet followed by the sound of something soft falling to the floor.

Anna looked in astonishment at Geoff who stood with a confused expression on her face in front of Anna and Elsa looking at his right arm which ended in a bloody stump aiming towards Elsa as if he still tried to stab her with it. At his side Erick tried to recover his balance after a desperate jump from the door, the saber in his right hand was red in the part which had hit Geoff's wrist.

Asking inwardly how Erick could have done such a jump so quickly from the door, Anna interposed between a still confused Elsa and Geoff. She had just placed herself in front of her sister when Rolf appeared at her side and hit with the hilt of his sword the assassin's face who fell on his fours still trying to stop the bleeding of his right arm. The blood poured over the floor of the dungeon.

Erick, after scarcely avoiding to fell to the ground, had also turned to hit the assassin again, but, seeing that he was inoffensive, the hussar retained a slash that would had hit Geoff's neck and turned to face Elsa. "I told you that he is dangerous and pitiless." He furiously exclaimed.

Elsa looked at him still in shock. Erick noticed that a tiny drop of blood from Geoff's arm had spoiled her right ear. "It had been bloody close." Erick inwardly thought, rapt by the crimson earring which hanged from her earlobe. The Queen raised her hand as if she was going to wipe the stain of blood.

"Elsa are you all right?" Erick asked realizing the Queen's confusion, his fury suddenly replaced by concern.

But Elsa quickly recovered and lowered her arm leaving the drop of blood untouched. "I know what he is, but I worry for what you are!" Elsa sternly replied. The drop of blood finally fell and splashed on her shoulder.

But Erick's previous rage and fury had evaporated and just looked fixedly at Elsa's eyes. The Queen of Arendelle held his gaze for an instant but she quickly looked away to pay attention to Geoff who was on the floor holding the stump with his remaining hand.

"Heal this man before he bleeds to death!" Said Elsa in her most commanding tone of voice .

"Call the doctor!" Rolf ordered to one of his men.

But Erick had already knelt beside Geof and, using his belt, improvised a tourniquet around the amputated arm. Geoff shouted when Erick fastened it.

"Shut up! I should put it around your neck!" Erick said not even looking at the assassin. When he had finished, Erick raised his eyes towards Elsa who stood in front of them. "Queen Elsa." Erick finally said, his voice surprisingly gentle.

Elsa looked at Erick, who still was down on one knee looking up at her, in an awkward silence.

"Elsa, are you crazy?" Anna exclaimed in surprise.

"I don't want any dragoon to come with us." Elsa replied as she laid back on her bed under the watchful gaze of her younger sister.

"Why?" Anna asked while helping Elsa to place her pillow.

"You already know that the North mountain is not a place for people." Elsa replied. She rested her head on the pillow and, for the first time from the signature of the treaty, tried to relax.

"I know that you have forbidden everybody to go to the North mountain. And it is a good idea because Marshmallow is happier alone and he could be dangerous. But your guards would come with you."

"Arendelle soldiers stormed once the Ice Palace. I don't want them there."

"Elsa, be sensible." Anna begged "You can't use your powers. You need protection and they are your soldiers."

"Anna." Elsa replied. "The north mountain is Marshmallow's home and a safe place for Olaf if need arises. It must remain a forbidden and unknown place. If Arendelle soldiers got used to visit it, the place would lost its aura of mistery." Elsa shook her head. "Nobody from Arendelle must approach it."

"Do you really believe that Olaf could need a haven like that?" Anna asked.

"Anna, According to Kai's explanations, this morning, during the mass, Bishop Bodo has done a veiled allusion to the unnatural winds that had blow over Arendelle tonight."

Anna raised her eyebrows in surprise. "What could he done anyway? He is just talking."

"Don't forget that he talks from the pulpit, it makes him important and he is also the puppet of Clarence and Ebbe, the northern Barons. They will use to their own advantage any slip of my powers. Olaf may need a safe place to hide in the future and nobody from Arendelle must go to the North mountain." Elsa concluded.

Anna snorted in despair, but suddenly her face lit up and smiled. "Have you said nobody from Arendelle?"

"Anna! I guess what are you thinking and it is a ..."

"Why not! Erick is a foreigner, he would return to his regiment after the conference, he has my complete trust and he has proved that he is able to protect you."

"This is not a good idea!" Elsa said nervously shaking her head.

"Why not?"

Elsa hesitated before replying. "Because he is like the other imperials. He is friendly with us but, at the end, he is just a warlord, solving everything with the point of his sword."

"Elsa, Rolf said that he was just feigning."

"Did he also feign cutting the finger of that man off?"

"Erick said that it was an accident. Elsa, I don't fully agree with what he has done, but Erick hasn't been all his life in a court as you and me. He doesn't react as us." Anna said remembering Erick's pitiless tone of voice when he had considered that killing Emil would had been an undeserved mercy.

"Do you also believe I live in a faerie tale?"

Anna sighed. "Elsa, you are blowing this up out of proportion. Erick didn't wanted to offend you!"

"He wasn't very polite." The Queen retorted.

"Nor you. I didn't recognize you in the dungeon. I have never seen you so angry in a discussion. You even insulted him saying that he wasn't better than the assassins. Why were you so cross with him?"

Elsa seemed uneasy by Anna's question and lowered her eyes. When She had entered into the dungeon, her objective was just putting an end to that and, later, have a long conversation about it with Rolf. She had planned to get rid of Erick quickly, politely and formally.

But when she had seen the young hussar standing in the middle of the room with his foot-long knife in his hand and a blood stained cloth in the other, she had lost control of herself. Forgetting all her previous ideas, she had angrily fell on him. Even worse, instead of just politely ignore Erick's comments as any acceptable diplomat would have done, she had reacted too emotionally and angrily quarreled.

"I think you should apologize to him." Anna said taking advantage of Elsa's silence.

Elsa raised her eyes and looked at her sister, but she was lost in her own thoughts. In the same moment that Erick finally had given up, Elsa, in spite of her previous fury, calmed down and, feeling that she had gone too far, wanted to repair the damage done, but she wasn't sure about what she could say after such a row and, worse still she was even confused about what she wanted to say. So she had just followed Erick with her eyes while the young hussar went to the door.

"Elsa? Are you all right?" Anna asked, surprised by her sister silence.

"Of course I'm." Elsa replied stopping daydreaming. "Why would he accept to go with us to the ice palace?"

"I think that he will. During the return he told me that he had heard of it and I'm sure that he would like to see it. Anyway I'm sure that he would come, even if he wasn't interested in it." Anna replied smiling.

"You seem very fond of him." Elsa said thoughtfully looking at her sister.

Anna nodded with a broad smile on her face. "He is as hot-headed as me. In fact we are very much alike, but when he is overprotective of me then he is a bit annoying."

"He isn't annoying enough!" Elsa said looking at Anna's bruised face. "Does Kristoff have to worry about him?" Elsa asked as she looked Anna straight in the eye.

Anna's eyes widened in surprise. "Why do you ask me that?"

"Well, I was just wondering." Elsa replied obviously embarrassed.

"Of course not!" Anna laughed. " I would trust him with my life and he has been a wonderful companion but just that!."

"I'm sorry. As I told you, I was just wondering." Elsa quickly replied. "Talking about Kristoff, hasn't he arrived yet? He should have already returned from the valley of the trolls."

Anna shook her head suddenly worried. "No. Maybe he had postponed his return by any reason."

Elsa looked through the window, outside it was almost dark. It was too late to send scouts." Command Rolf to send a patrol tomorrow morning to fetch him. "I'm sure that he is fine, but maybe he had encountered any minor problem in his way."

"I will." Anna replied with a brave smile on her face. Although unsaid, both sister thought in the possibility of an assassin and they fell in a awkward silence suddenly broken by Anna. "But you are avoiding the issue. Erick will come with us! Accept that or I will fetch the manacles from the dungeons.

Elsa gazed in silence at Anna for a long time before replying. "I accept, but I don't want to be alone with him. Stay at my side all the time."

Anna almost jumped for joy. " I will prepare everything for tomorrow, meanwhile you should sleep." Said Anna as she walked to the door, but she stopped with the hand over the knob and turned his head to talk with her sister." Elsa I know that you dislike Erick and you have your reasons, but after the combat in the assassins encampment, he exchanged a few words with the leader of the group before he committed suicide. The first thing he asked was if the Empire had hired them." After saying that, Anna opened the door and left the room.

When the door closed behind Anna, Elsa raised from her bed and went to the corner of the bedroom where the servants had left the belongings of the assassins she had selected in the dungeon. She wanted to study them sitting in her table, but a jab in her side told him that it would he wiser to do it while lying down.

Once again on her bed with the different objects, Elsa started to study them. They were mainly documents, letters, maps a list with the names of the inhabitants of the castle with incomprehensible words at their side. Elsa supposed that they were written in German. She was tempted to call Rolf, who had a very good German, but she would concentrate better alone.

Examining the maps they had used, she tried to deduce the way they had followed to reach Arendelle. She also read some personal letters which Emil had written in French and left the others apart, presumably written in German, to be translated later. She didn't supposed that they would say who hired them, but the slightest clue could be decisive.

Elsa ended up lying in the bed looking at a little piece of paper. It was a very simple sketch of Arendelle's castle which had been found in the second encampment. It displayed the castle gardens and the internal distribution of some areas, but some sections of the castle had been left unpainted as if the person who do it didn't know them.

"It has been drawn by a person who came to the castle as a visitor that's why he just knew some parts." Elsa thought, feeling that she was approaching to her objective. Although the sketch was simple it was quite accurate. She studied the areas left in blank trying to discern who could have painted it. After a long time examining the map she felt confused, the public areas of the castle were well painted and also some private areas, but she wasn't able to imagine a person who knew the painted ones and was unaware of the others.

Elsa finally gave up and, raising from the bed, put the objects on her table. She started to slowly take off her clothes without using her ice powers. She felt strange doing it and tore the tight ice dress removing it, but she didn't dare to use her powers. "I will create another one tomorrow, if I dare." She had created the ice dress before the meeting with Lord Halkett and it had been a painful process, she still shivered remembering that, but going to the meeting with Lord Halkett dressed in an ordinary dress would had meant to show her weakness to the Englishmen.

Having finished, she returned to her bed and took the book she had been trying to read the night before, Malory's 'The Death of Arthur', from the table by her bed and put it on her lap. She intended to relax before sleeping, but, as if they weren't no more dammed by the distraction of a task which should be done, the images and sensations of what happened in the dungeons flooded back again into her mind.

Geoff's attack had been so quick that she hadn't been able to react, but she had seen Anna trying to stop Geoff's stab and the mere possibility that Anna could have received the attack destined for her had stirred up her rage. Although the assasin was on her fours holding her amputated arm, she had felt the strong impulse of run Geoff's heart through with a spike of ice in order to protect her sister.

The sudden rush of fury, which she had hardly controlled, had made him doubt, for a brief moment, of her decision about how the prisoner had to be treated. Doubt and fear for Anna had made her feel again like a frightened little girl playing with her parents' tools which could be dangerous.

Erick instead was absolutely seething. Holding his blood stained saber and clad in her worn uniform he could have been in the middle of a battle in his beloved Plains. Elsa's heart hardened again and the young Queen, ashamed by her brief weakness, gathered her remaining strength to hold Erick's gaze and keep her composure in front of the furious hussar in an appropriate way for a Queen.

Although Elsa had the fleeting and strange feeling that Erick's penetrating eyes pierced the veil of her self-confident demeanor and he was fully aware of her fear an doubts, she prepared herself for a new confrontation, unwilling to give in as much for being a matter of principle as for her own pride. But then, as if by magic, Erick's rage and anger disappeared and he even gave first aid to the assassin.

Elsa was so surprised that she wasn't able to say anything when, after fastening the tourniquet on Geoff's stump, Erick, who was still kneeling in front of her, finally talked to her.

"What you can do with a man who stands against Queens and Imperial Dukes, but give in to a frightened girl?" Elsa thought raising her eyes to the roof over her head. "Pride of Emperors." Said Elsa remembering part of the Erick's house unofficial motto.

She took a deep breath and brushed a lock of her hair off her forehead. "I'm the Queen of Arendelle and there are problems enough. I have to deal with the delegates and now the Northern Barons with Bishop Bodo, their puppet, could be an additional problem. Anna, Arendelle, everybody depend on me. I cannot hesitate." She said inwardly as he opened the book over her lap. Reading about King's Arthur knights would be a good way to take her mind off her concerns. Surely she hardly would find anything more different from the harsh and cynical negotiations than a chivalresque story. But then she turned a page and laid her eyes on the picture of Tristan kneeling in front of Isolde which she had already seen the night before.

The book hit the wall where Elsa had threw it. The young Queen of Arendelle put out the candle by her bed, unconsciously using her powers, and covered herself with the sheet as she grumbled about Anna's silly ideas.

"Don't expect me to congratulate you by what you have done. Do you remember what I told you about a doctor that makes the wound before healing it?" Said Corrado while he walked towards his house with Erick at his side.

But Erick didn't even reply. " He had been thoughtful all along the way from the castle just replying with one-word answers and gazing fixedly towards the fjord. The strong winds had been replaced by a gentle, although persistent, breeze and the moon was high in a cloudless night sky full of stars.

"Don't you want to talk now? Why didn't you the same before? What were you thinking about when you talked in such a way to Elsa? She is a Queen! Don't you realize that she isn't a ordinary woman?"

"You can be sure I'm aware that she isn't an ordinary woman." Erick suddenly replied breaking his silence. "But the crown that she was supposed to wear on her head has nothing to do with it. What is she made of? She seems fragile like a snowflake but she stands everything. She was there, with blood in her ear, as if she was used to it. What is she made of?" Repeated an astonished Erick to Corrado.

"She is of hard stuff. That man tried to kill her and she wasn't even frightened!" Corrado proudly said.

Erick shook his head. "You are wrong. I could tell you that after the attack she was frightened and doubtful. I saw in her eyes that she was trembling inwardly. I thought she was going to broke, but she controlled her fear and stuck to what she thinks is the correct way."

"Erick, you need rest. You haven't sleep in two days." Corrado said, worried by Erick's strange tone of voice.

But Erick didn't even pay attention to Corrado's words. "She wasn't even surprised for what Geoff had done. All the time, she has been fully aware that she is at the edge of the abysm. I was completely wrong! She doesn't live in a faerie tale she live in hell but she won't give up whatever the cost. "

"She is playing with fire and will burn herself." Corrado said.

Erick nodded, his gaze fixed again on the fjord."You are right. She will try to stop them and they are too many and too powerful. She has no chance."

"This will have a nasty end. You have to convince Ladislas. It would be the best."

"Why have I to talk with Ladislas?" Erick asked in surprise turning his head to face the old Italian.

"Before your silly interview with the prisoner, you said that you would try to get his permission to left Arendelle and return with you regiment to the Plains. When you left, this won't be your business anymore." Corrado replied.

"Ah! You were talking about that! I will do it someday." Replied Erick rather uninterested looking again at the fjord.

Finally, both men had reached Corrado's home. "Erick, you are too tired. Let's go to sleep."

"Later. I want to behold the fiord for a while." Erick replied sitting in the stump of a tree in front of Corrado's home."

The old Italian shook his head while looking at the bandage around Erick's head. "You have received too many blows on the head. "He said, worried about Erick's strange behavior."Do you feel fine?"

"I'm fine. Good night Corrado. I'll see you tomorrow." Replied the young man who don't even turned his head to face him.

"Good night Erick and I hope that tomorrow you will apologize to Elsa, remember that she is a Queen." Corrado answered before leaving Erick alone.

"She is a Queen and I'm just a Imperial petty Count who could only cause her problems." Erick said inwardly while he was wrapped up in the reflection of the moon. The gentle breeze slightly ruffled the smooth waters and the white light glimmered on the dark fiord like a blonde almost white hair gleaming with the beams of the sun in a dark room.

* * *

NA: Hi everybody.

I'm sorry by the delay publishing the last chapters. My objective is to publish a chapter every one or two weeks, although, sometimes, I need three weeks to complete it. But I have just noticed that I spent four weeks, an entire month, to publish the previous chapter. I recognize that it is an excesive long time between chapters and it make difficult to remember what happened before, but due to some hard weeks in the office combined with a specially long chapter (my first idea was that this chapter and the previus one should be a unique chapter), I wasn't able to publish it before. Hopefully, I will be able to publish a chapter every tone or two weks in the future.

I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. It finishes as the chapter 32 which starts with Erick looking at the moon in the waters of the fjord, but a lot of things have changed after nine chapters and 24 hours of story time.

See you in Arendelle.


	41. Nothing to do with Justice

NA: Hi everybody.

I have great news! Lauren, one of the followers of this story, has kindly offered herself as beta reader. She will check the new chapters before being published and also the old ones (this will take some time). This is the first corrected chapter and I'm sure that you will see the difference, she has made a great work (If you see any error in the Author's notes, it isn't her fault since I send her only the chapters).

See you in Arendelle.

* * *

The sun had just begun to rise over the eastern mountains and its beams dimly illuminated the surface of the fjord. A gentle breeze waved the white ensign on the stern of the frigate. The white banner contrasted with the dark figure of the great war ship.

Konrad, King of the Southern Isles, shivered and turned the collar of his coat up to protect himself of the cold wind. He would have been happy if he could have blamed the wind for his shivers; he couldn't help but be anxious by Lord Halkett's sudden call. Stephan was at his side in the bow of the boat which brought them from Arendelle's harbor to the English frigate anchored in the middle of the fjord.

"Are you certain?" Konrad asked to his younger brother.

"If Lord Halkett makes the slightest insinuation that we were involved in the attack against Queen Elsa, we will have to recognize it. It's the best way to appease his fury." Stephan replied.

"But what he will do?"

"He will do what is best for England and his own interests. The Westergards are England's most trusted ally in Norway, he isn't interested in weakening us."

"What are you suggesting? That he'll just slap me on my wrist and tell me not to do again!" Konrad exclaimed.

"Of course not. He would tell you not to fail again." Stephan cynically replied. "Anyway we'll owe him, and you can be sure that he will call in the favor."

"Then we will be at the mercy of Lord Halkett. I'd rather deny everything."

"Be serious! That black clad, imperial bastard caught one of our assassins alive. It's just a matter of time before Arendelle soldiers discover the truth. If we lie to Halkett it will only get worse."

"Are you sure of that? Remember what happened to Hans. She sent him back to us untouched. Rumor has it that she won't interrogate a prisoner in our usual way."

Stephan let out a derisive snort. "There is too much at stake and even if she doesn't have the guts to torture a prisoner, Halkett will press her to get access. The Englishman will want to know who would make such an attempt without his permission."

"Maybe you are right." Konrad said dubiously.

"You will have to decide quickly because it is our necks at stake," his brother sternly replied. The boat had finally reached the frigate and both brothers looked up to where a sailor was letting a rope ladder down.

Once on the deck, they were received by the Captain, Allan Halkett. "King Konrad. Lord Howart Halkett will meet you immediately in private." Said the captain looking at Stephan.

"My brother could hear everything regarding to..." Konrad started to say, but was interrupted by Allan.

"I'm sorry, but I have been instructed by my uncle to bring only you to the meeting."

Konrad noticed the subtle reference to Lord Halkett as 'my uncle', while the Captain looked at him with indifference. It seems like his brother would not be allowed to attend the meeting. "Let me speak with my brother, Captain," Konrad replied as he stepped aside with Stephan to talk in private.

"What do you think?" Konrad asked.

"I don't know! I wasn't expecting this!" Stephan replied obviously nervous.

"This is a blatant breach of protocol. He is only a diplomat, and I'm a King. He cannot dictate who can attend this meeting."

Stephan made a wry smile. "Protocols are wonderful for a novice like Queen Elsa, but not realistic in real diplomacy. Tell him that I have come here to talk with his secretary about our business dealings in London. He gets his way, but we keep our standing." Stephan looked his brother straight in the eye. "The future of the house of Westergard is hanging by a thread; a thread which is in Lord Halkett's hands. Don't infuriate him."

* * *

Christian Mullon, the French delegate, was sipping a glass of Port and sitting in an armchair in the Captain's cabin, which was currently being used by Lord Halkett. The King was surprised and upset, obviously nobody had thought to inform him that the French would also be in attendance.

"Hello King Konrad. Thank you for coming so soon," Lord Halkett said in an official tone of voice. He was seated at his desk with the windows of the stern behind him. "Please, have a seat," He said signaling a chair in front of his desk. It was placed in front of the desk, facing both diplomats as if on trial. The fact that Allan Halkett had remained in the room, silently standing by the door behind Konrad, only increased that feeling.

"We need to talk with you about certain information we have received about the attack against Queen Elsa." Lord Halkett went on once Konrad sat down.

_He is very straightforward,_ Mullon thought while he studied the King of the Southern Isles' reaction. Konrad tried, unsuccessfully, to conceal his nervousness. It was easy to see that the King wasn't used to this sort of situation. According to Mullon's information these tasks were usually carried out by his younger brother Stephan.

"Gentlemen, I'm at your disposal, but I 'm afraid that I won't be of much help."

"We don't believe that," Mullon said without irony.

"I don't understand you." Konrad replied, trying to hide his fear.

"One of your secretaries confessed that you ordered him to hire the assassins who tried to kill Queen Elsa. Here is his confession." Lord Halkett said as he raised four or five sheets from his desk and handed it to Konrad.

Konrad took the document, he recognized the small but clear handwriting of his personal secretary. He had written on both sides and there was little space between the lines, so took some time to read it. Mullon and Halkett waited patiently while the King of the Southern isles studied the document

The confession was signed by his secretary and dated the day before. It provided a complete description of the actions he had taken, under Konrad's orders, to organize the murder attempt. It was very accurate, full of details and easy to verify. When he had finished reading it, Konrad raised his eyes from the document and looked speechless at both diplomats.

"Well, what do you have to say about it?" The Englishman politely asked.

"I don't know what to say." It was a clumsy answer, but Konrad was trying to get time to think a way out.

"It's easy; you can confirm the veracity of this document or maintain that it is false," Christian Mullon coldly said, concealing his satisfaction. The information about Konrad had been a godsend. Just when the conference was reaching a conclusion, and the English were leaning on him to accept a final agreement, Konrad's implication in the assassination attempt against Queen Elsa had fallen in his hands.

He had threatened to make it public if the English didn't take any action against the King. Lord Halkett had been wise enough to sacrifice his pawn in order to preserve English supremacy in the conference. Now the trusted ally of England would be weakened in a critical moment when French and English influence were colliding in the zone. All of these ideas crossed Mullon's mind, while his face remained blank.

"Please, tell me. Is what this document says true?" Lord Halkett asked looking fixedly at Konrad.

Remembering his brother's words, Konrad finally gave up. "I did it for the security of the people of Norway. She froze Arendelle once, was I supposed to wait until she froze the Southern Isles also? We can't be at the mercy of her powers. The events of last night are a proof that her powers are dangerous."

Howard Halkett and Christian Mullon look at each other. Mullon raised his eyebrows at the English diplomat, and Lord Halkett sighed. "Although I understand your concern for your people, that doesn't justify such a horrible crime as that."

For a brief moment, Mullon couldn't help looking at them with contempt. It was difficult to say, even to himself, whether it was King Konrad's confession or Lord Halkett's words that earned his distaste.

If the English delegate was aware of Mullon's disdain, he hid it and continued talking. "I must ask that you to voluntarily remain on the frigate until a decision is reached about your case."

"This is inconceivable. I'm the King of the Southern Isles!"

"It is because you are a King that I am asking you. Please don't test me on this," Lord Halkett calmly replied although his eyes were cold as ice.

Konrad looked around searching for support, but he only found the eyes of the French delegate were as cold as Lord Halkket's eyes, although he had a sardonic smile on his face.

* * *

"What a disaster!" Allan Halkett said when he was alone with his uncle. The first lieutenant of the ship had brought Konrad to the cabin where he would be held, and Mullon had left the ship to return to Arendelle.

"If he had at least killed that damned Snow Queen we would be in a better position. The result of the conference wouldn't have been so critical and the French couldn't have pressed us so hard." Lord Howard Halkett replied running his hands over his hair.

"We shouldn't have allowed the French here," Allan replied. "We could have come up with a cover up."

Howard Halkett shook his head. "There was a leak and Mullon knew everything already. He approached me yesterday, just before Stephan told us what his brother had done, and told me about the confession. He made it very clear, very politely, that if we didn't act, he would make it public."

"Why is it so important? England could have just condemned his actions and left him return to his petty Kingdom."

Lord Halkett internally cursed his nephew by his lack of vision, but then the old diplomat remembered that he was young and still learning. "The French would have made a formal petition. If we had ignored it, the other participants in the conference wouldn't have liked it."

"The near death of a Queen from a petty Kingdom is so important to affect a conference like this?"

"The royals are very sensitive to any attack to a King or Queen. Mullon could have presented himself as a righteous man who is fighting to preserve the monarchy and its traditions. Remember what happened to Napoleon when he executed the Duke of Enghien, Europe's royalty turned against him."

"And he crushed them in Ulm and Austerlitz."

"He had the best army of the moment and was a military genius, whereas we have a small army and no especially apt military leader," was Lord Halkett's stern reply. "Showing indifference for Mullon's request could have added some new allies for the coalition being built by him and the result of the conference, including the hand of the Snow Queen, would dramatically change."

"Maybe they would be upset if we ignored an attack against a Queen, but wouldn't they be just as upset if we depose King Konrad? He is a figure as sacred as Elsa."

"You are right, but in that point you can see the French's dexterous maneuver. By making a formal public petition, if we were to ignore it we would have seemed as promoting regicide. Condemning Konrad together, both of our countries, England and France, will be equal and no harm is done to the status quo of the conference."

Allan gave the wooden wall a bang with his fist. "So we have to swallow our pride and let him dispose our puppet of his title. Are you sure that the result of the conference is more important than the integrity of The Southern Isles? He is our ally, and a major regional power, and our main concern is to send the Snow Witch far away, so who cares if she is married to a French puppet?"

"The conference has attracted all of Europe's attention. It has become a symbol of the control of Norway. Mullon has acted better than expected and his coalition is very strong. We can't afford the loss of status that would come from a defeat in Arendelle."

"So we are at a dead end. Who could have told the French?"

"I'm sure the source is the same who give us the confession."

"You are talking about Stephan, Konrad's brother?"

"Yes, think about it. Last night, Stephan came to my private rooms and explained his brother's folly, he even brought the confession of his secretary. Which would have been our sensible reaction?"

"We would have hid everything and used that knowledge in the future to control Konrad." Allan promptly replied.

"Of course, but Stephan wanted to get rid of him so he also told the French. Once Mullon had that information, he had only one possible way to use it for his own advantage."

"And Mullon hasn't realize that he was being used by Stephan?"

"I'm sure that he was fully aware of that, but he got an unexpected ace to play against us. His pride will accept that quite willingly."

"Then lock Stephan up in the cabin next to Konrad's. I'm sure that he was also involved in the plot against Elsa. If we have to be honorable, let's take it to its logical conclusion."

"And aggravate the situation in the Southern Isles? I don't care for Stephan's involvement in this stupid affair. We need him to stabilize the situation in his country and he knows it."

"Then this petty, traitorous snake would become King?"

"I don't think so. The Southern Isles lords hate him too much. He's been raising taxes and limiting their powers the last ten years. Another brother, chosen by him, will wear the crown and he will remain as the power behind the throne."

"Petty bastard." Allan muttered.

"Don't be so rude with him. He played his cards well, and Konrad was a continuous source of problems. Hopefully he will build up the Southern Isles power. Anyway we have more delicate issues to take care of."

Allan Halkett gazed at his uncle in surprise. What could be more important than England's honor being tainted by a little viper like Stephan?

"I have been informed that since the beginning of the conference, soldiers of Arendelle have been smuggling food into the new harbor every night. I made an official protest to Arendelle, but I fear that they will delay the response for as long as they can. This could become a problem if the Queen doesn't accept the final result of the conference."

"You mean if we have to blockade Arendelle?"

"Yes. We made great efforts to ensure that Arendelle's warehouses were empty; now they could be full of food and that will undermine the blockade."

"Do you believe they have been able to smuggle in so much food? I don't buy it." Allan stated.

"I suppose you're right." Lord Halkett replied but his face was grave, weighing the increased costs of a blockade if Arendelle was well stocked with food.

"Anyway, do you believe that the Snow Queen," Allan said, sarcastically emphasizing the popular nickname for Elsa, "Would dare to oppose us. Remember how much she insisted England was made the signatory of the treaty as a way to ensure peace between both Kingdoms? She is utterly afraid of us."

Lord Halkett was worried, for a second his instincts said that something was wrong. There were too much things that didn't fit. "Then why is she unloading food at night?"

Allan shrugged. "Maybe they are the movements of her sister, Princess Anna. This is the sort of thing a naïve, stupid girl would do. Anyway, we could send one of our men to the new harbor. He could sneak in and see what' s happening."

Howart Halkett finally nodded giving up. "You're right, she's probably just a frightened little girl doing stupid, foolish things. We have to finish this conference as soon as possible, things are getting too complicated.

* * *

The door opened and Stephan entered into the room, a royal marine clad in his red jacket remained outside guarding the door. _And me,_ thought Konrad seated in the bed of the little cabin.

"So they locked you up too. I hope that you'll be in a different room. This is too little even for one person, let alone a King," Konrad told his brother trying to seem indifferent.

Both brothers looked each other in silence. "Unless you haven't been arrested," Konrad finally added breaking the silence.

Stephan shook his head while he sat on a stool by the bed." Actually I have come to say good bye. I will take care of the Kingdom which our parents entrusted to us."

"How did you get the confession of my secretary?" Konrad asked with toneless voice although he was clenching his fists.

"You are too proud and tend to blame others for your own faults. I helped him on several occasions to avoid your fury. So when I approached him yesterday saying that the English had discovered everything, he was willing to hear me out. I told him that the prisoner had explained what he had done, and it was easy to convince him that you were doomed, but he could save himself with a confession. I suppose that he was afraid all the blame would fall to him unless he acted quickly."

"You dare to commit treason against your King?" Konrad said incredulously.

"Of course! Did you think I was going to allow you to lead me and the entire Kingdom into disaster?"

"I'm your King! How dare you!"

"You were just a figurehead! Who did all the work while you were playing Konrad the Great? I have been working for ten years to make the Southern Isles great. I control our Barons and Counts, provide money for our military campaigns and political movements which increase the power of the Kingdom, always handling the foreign powers to get their support and you just enjoyed the celebrations and strut at the front of the army in the parades. Did you really believe that I was going to allow you to ruin all my efforts just for your obsession for Arendelle? I cannot understand why you made that move against the Queen of Arendelle!"

"Are you going to be a hypocrite like the Englishman and say that it was a crime?"

"It's worse than a crime, it's a mistake! " was Stephan's surly reply. "When you decided to meddle in government affairs, you became useless. It's difficult enough to rule a country without your interference."

"Traitor! I hope that they lock you up," Konrad replied glaring daggers at his brother.

"The English are too worried about the stability of the Southern Isles to do something like that, and I have a letter signed by Mullon recognizing my help in uncovering those who tried to kill the sweet Queen Elsa. If he made any move against me, I would use it. Now I only have to choose who will replace you."

"You could choose Hans. According to you, he has a fine instinct about what is possible." Konrad replied, barely containing his anger.

Stephan shook his head. "He would never accept to be a mere puppet, and he is too smart to make a mistake so clumsy that would allow me to get rid of him. I need somebody more proud than intelligent, luckily our family had produced a great deal of people like that."

Stephan raised from the stool. "I have to leave. Many details require my attention, the conference is about to come to an end."

Both brothers looked at each other in an awkward silence. "I wish you good luck in your new life. They will just exile you to London and you will never run short of money."

"Rot in hell!" Konrad replied looking away from his brother.

"Don't act so offended. In the end you tried to kill Queen Elsa. This is justice."

"What happened here has nothing to do with justice." Konrad replied sarcastically, not even looking at his brother.

* * *

Corrado was on one of the docks of the new harbor, near one of the great warehouses under construction, looking at the English frigate with an expression of annoyance on his face. "Why wasn't it sent off as soon as it was unloaded from the ship?"

"Because it was unloaded the night of the attempted assassination of the Queen. You give the order to stop what we were doing and hide everything when it was on a boat in the middle of the fjord on its way to the shore. When it arrived, we hide it as best as we could, but it cannot stay here," said Mark, the captain of the guards, who almost pierced Erick's head with a harpoon two nights ago.

"It would have been better if that load had remained on the freighter," Corrado replied while he entered in the nearby warehouse. There were five barrels of the best quality, solid and well-sealed to protect their contents from the water. One of the barrels was open, and a coarse black powder was visible. The barrels should had been unloaded the next day but when problems arose with one of the cranes on the freighter, there was a confusion of the order the cargo to had to be unloaded. Then they were busy hiding all the packages that were already unloaded, that they hadn't noticed that the compromising objects had already been left behind.

"Why did you open it?" Corrado asked. The barrels were supposed to be handled by only a select few people, and Mark was not included in that group.

"We hid it in the first place we managed to find, but today I was checking them all to be sure that they were stored in the appropriate places, so they wouldn't get damaged or go bad. That's why I opened the barrel. When I realize what it was, I immediately came to get you."

"Do you know what is it?" Corrado asked.

"Yes sir, gunpowder of the best quality," The captain replied. "We can't leave it here in this unfinished warehouse; it's too humid inside and it could get ruined."

"That's not the only problem. The English have made an official protest about our unloading activities at night."

The Captain gaped at Corrado. "How did they find out?" He asked.

"I don't know, but we have to move these barrels. Although Kai will stop any attempt to search in the harbor they could send their spies to sniff around. Mark the barrels with the word 'pepper'. It could work if they aren't paying close attention. And move them to the warehouse by my office; there they will be protected from damp.

"Are you sure about that sir? That could be very dangerous."

"It should be for a short time only. Since the night of the assassination attempt, it has been decided that anyone trying to move anything out of the harbor needs special approval by the Queen, but I'm sure that she would agree that it can't remain here. Although the Queen is not in Arendelle today, I'll get her permission when she returns in the evening. So, we can move them tonight."

"The Queen left Arendelle? But I though that she was wounded and had to rest."

"A Simple flesh wound isn't enough to stop Queen Elsa." Corrado replied. 'Hide those barrels and be discreet about it. Nobody can know what it is."

"I will place a guard to watch them."

"Then everybody would know that they are important. Treat them like any other cargo."

"Yes." Mark hesitated for a moment before going on. "Sir, is type this used for..." The Captain stopped talking as if he didn't dare to complete the phrase.

Corrado looked at him. "Yes Mark, this type of gunpowder is used in heavy cannons."

"But sir, there aren't any heavy cannons in Arendelle; just some light horse artillery managed by Nelberg's men."

"Then this must not exist, and everything is alright because you haven't found anything. Have I made it clear enough?"

"Absolutely!" Mark replied with a knowing smile on his face.


	42. Snowman

The sleigh, deftly handled, moved swiftly among the trees. "Come on Sven!" Kristoff shouted to the reindeer who was between the shafts. It was two hours before midday and he wanted to arrive in Arendelle before evening. He was a day late and feared that Anna would worry. "But it was worth the delay." The mountain man thought looking at a white bag at his side in the driver's seat.

Looking at the package, Kristoff couldn't help thinking of Anna. He was eager to see again the red-headed Princess; she was another reason get back quickly. Kristoff pictured her as he saw her two days ago, in the castle courtyard seeing him off with a brave smile on her face. They had been together in her bed until the last minute and her hair was arranged in two quickly made braids which left loose red locks around her sleepy face.

Sven's sudden stop took him by surprise. "What happened?" He exclaimed before realizing that a dead tree was crossed in the path blocking their way. It was just after a bend of the path almost at the top of a little hill, and although Sven could have jumped over, it was too big for the sleigh. Kristoff quickly stopped his pleasant daydreaming and looked around. His keen eyes noticed a track which the tree had left on the forest floor when it had been dragged. _This tree didn't fall on the way, somebody put it here_ Kristoff said inwardly.

A sound came from a nearby yew grove in front of Kristoff; it sounded like a horse pawing at the ground. "Who's there?" Kristoff said while he put his hand over the hilt of his knife. He got off the sleigh and warily started to move closer to the origin of the sound. Suddenly the mountain man turned around and faced the rear of the sleigh with the knife, which he had quickly drawn, in his hand. A dark figure was by the cart trying to approach him by the back.

"You have very acute hearing," Erick said leaning against the side of the sleigh; his saber was in its sheath which hung from his belt.

"And you are very good at moving through the forest," Kristoff replied in surprise. He was used to traveling in the wilderness and it wasn't an easy task to get so close to him without being heard. "Who's your friend?" Kristoff asked nodding his head towards the group of yews. He gave the hussar a wary look, the latest news about Erick didn't add up to finding him during his return to Arendelle.

"It's my horse. I saw you from the top of the hill when you crossed the clearing and I wanted to see who you were."

"Did you put that here?" Kristoff asked looking at the tree across the way.

"Yes." Erick replied smiling. " I ensured that you would stop, and I hid the horse behind the trees, so it would make enough noise to distract you."

"So you could sneak up on me," Kristoff replied looking at the hussar. He didn't want to be alone with him in the forest. Although he was far taller and heftier than Erick, but he didn't fool himself about the result of a fight between the hussar and himself. He had never been trained to fight and Erick was an elite soldier.

"I'll get the tree out of the way," Erick said as he started towards the yews. When he disappeared among them Kristoff wondered if he had to turn the sleigh and try to run away. But that would mean he had to run away from Arendelle and, anyway, Erick could catch the sleigh easily.

The hussar appeared from behind the trees mounted on a chestnut horse. He moved skillfully in the rough ground until he reached the path and, passing a lasso around the fallen tree, had his mount drag the trunk.

"Let's go," Erick said. "Anna will be delighted to see you."

"Anna?" Kristoff asked.

"Yes, she and her sister are in a little nearby gully by a stream," Erick replied dismounting and untying the lasso.

Now Kristoff was sure that Erick was lying. The hussar had warned Anna about a possible assassin before he had left Arendelle. But he could have done it just to gain their confidence.

"Why are they here?" Asked the mountain man

"We stopped where the path that heads to the North mountain splits from the main road, so Elsa could recover before starting the next stage of our travel. I wanted to check the surroundings and Anna told me that this path was the one you would use to return to Arendelle and asked me to search for any sign of you." The hussar pointed to the top of the nearby hill. "I climbed that hill to have a good view and saw you coming."

Kristoff looked at Erick with disbelief.

"You don't believe me." Erick said smiling.

"I never said that."

"Your eyes are too expressive," The hussar laughed.

"I didn't want to offend you." Kristoff replied.

"I'm not offended. It's a sensible reaction. Go ahead and you will meet them at the place I told you. I will meet you there when I complete my task," Said Erick as he mounted on his horse.

"Wait a second! That is not your horse and it's not from the stables of Arendelle castle. Where did you get it?" Kristoff asked.

"It's a long story and Anna will can tell it better than me. See you later!" said he and, urging his horse to a quick gallop, disappeared following the path through which Kristoff had come.

* * *

"My family made it for you. Hopefully they made it right, they're not used to doing things like this." Kristoff said while handling the sleigh through a path in the forest.

"I'm sure it's wonderful, but what is it?" Anna replied looking for a moment at the white bag. She was next to Kristoff in the driver's seat of the sleigh very close to him, and his eyes gleamed with happiness.

"It's a surprise. I'll show you when we're alone. I hope you'll like it; it's the reason I was delayed. I spent almost an entire day gathering the..." Kristoff stopped talking realizing that he was about to say too much. Anna looked at him expectantly. "...raw material." He finally concluded.

Anna smiled and, closing her eyes, nestled her head against Kristoff's shoulder.

Elsa was in the rear of the sleigh pretending she was asleep. Kristoff had met them in the gully, and it had taken a long time to explain to him all the past events. When the hussar returned, he even apologized to Erick for having doubted him.

Now they were moving towards the Ice Palace. Kristoff had left his usual sleigh and was driving a longer one, with Sven between the shafts. The sleigh, which had been obtained from the coach house of the castle, usually had three benches for the passengers, but Anna had ordered they replace the seats with a bed so Elsa could sleep on it.

When Elsa had seen the sleigh, she had initially refused to travel that way and Anna had to threaten her with the manacles to force the young Queen of Arendelle to accept it. But, after more than six hours, she had to recognize that Anna's idea was a good one. She was exhausted and her side ached, but it would have been far worse if she had traveled on horseback.

It was so obvious that Kristoff and Anna wanted to talk in private that Elsa had pretended to sleep. Elsa tried not to listen to the conversation, but they were too close. So she keep herself entertained watching the landscape and Erick on his new horse through her half-closed eyes.

Anna had given the horse, which had belonged to the man who tried to kill Elsa, to the hussar as a replacement for his lost one. Now Erick was doing what he had called testing his new horse, but Elsa would call trying to break his neck going through impassable places.

Elsa woke up with Anna at her side. "Wake up sleeping beauty. You have been asleep almost the entire journey." Elsa looked confused at her sister. She had really fallen asleep and was a bit disoriented.

After such a long trip, they had finally reached the North Mountain and the snow line. They had to leave their vehicle because no cart or sleigh could reach the Ice Palace; they would have to make the last leg of the trip by horseback.

Elsa got down the sleigh, still drowsy, helped by her sister. "Why don't you stay here for a while with Kristoff. You could follow us later." The Queen of Arendelle said.

"That's a wonderful idea!" Anna exclaimed, her face lit up with a smile of delight. "We will catch up with you and Erick in..." Suddenly Anna's expression changed. "We can't. I promised you that I wouldn't leave you alone with him."

"Oh! Don't worry about that. I decided that I can control it." Elsa nonchalantly replied.

"But Elsa you can't use your powers. If he attacked you, although I'm sure he wouldn't, you couldn't defend yourself."

Elsa stiffened at the mention of her powers. She had been able to create a new ice dress and, even though it hasn't been an experience as painful as the day before, it hadn't been easy. "I'm sure that he won't attack me. That's not why I wanted you near me." Elsa replied.

"Really? Great!" Anna exclaimed and quickly went towards the place where Erick and Kristoff were saddling the horses that they had brought with them from the castle.

Elsa sighed in relief. If Anna had have asked why she didn't want to be alone with Erick she would have been put in an awkward situation. The Queen of Arendelle was sure that she could keep the impetuous hussar at bay so there was no need to deprive her sister of a moment of intimacy with Kristoff. They would have very few opportunities in the days to come.

Elsa followed Anna towards the saddled horses. She felt an intense and unexpected happiness. She supposed that feeling the snow under her feet and the prospect of seeing the snowmen cheered her up.

After helping her sister mount her horse Anna watched as they started off. She hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should go with her elder sister. Elsa was obviously tired and sometimes wasn't able to conceal a wince. But then she saw Erick placing his horse beside hers and a little behind so the chest of Erick's mount was near Elsa's saddle. From that position he would be able to help Elsa if she fell. Feeling relieved, Anna turned to face Kristoff.

"What about your gift?" Anna suddenly said in a feigned stern tone of voice.

"At your service Princess Anna," Kristoff replied also feigned submissive tone of voice. "But as I told you before it is not my gift. It is a gift from my family. In fact, Bulda had the idea when I told them that you and I are together."

"Really?" Anna's eyes gleamed with joy. "And what did she think about it? I mean you and me".

"Are you kidding? She tried to marry us the first time she saw you." Kristoff laughed.

"Yes but the situation is very different now." Anna replied.

Kristoff took the white bag from his saddle. "Nothing really important has changed for them. Let's find a better place, and I will show you what she thinks about Princess Anna of Arendelle and her son being together." While Kristoff said that, he held Anna's hand and drew her towards the nearby forest. Anna couldn't help laughing when Kristoff said her complete title.

* * *

Erick and Elsa were already away, but both heard Anna's laughter and twisted in their saddles to see the couple disappearing among the trees. Elsa felt a sudden twinge in her side and couldn't help wincing.

"Are you all right?" Erick asked stretching out his arm as if he was ready to hold Elsa.

"I don't need your help. Would you really try to catch me if I fell?"

"Unless you'd rather that I help to pick you up from the ground," Erick ironically replied.

"I can ride. I have been trained," Elsa said omitting that due to her uncontrollable powers she hadn't been instructed, like Anna, to ride during her childhood. Rolf had been her teacher during the last year, but her skill was, at the best, passable.

"Maybe you have been trained, but you're tense, and you'll pass on that nervousness to the horse."

Elsa frowned and kicked her horse into a canter although she wasn't sure how long she would be able to keep herself on the saddle at that pace.

"You are proud," Erick replied effortlessly keeping the same pace.

"Are you suggesting I'm too proud?" Elsa replied.

"Absolutely not. Just in the right measure." Erick laughed.

In that moment they turned a bend in the path and the Ice Palace appeared in front of them. A broad smile appeared on Elsa's face when she saw the high towers of her Palace. Erick couldn't help but be overwhelmed by its beauty, and he didn't even notice the white figure in the path, a little snowman with a great carrot as nose, who suddenly turned his head towards them.

"Hi! You have come at last!" Said the white figure while he went closer to the Queen.

Elsa dismounted and knelt in front of the snowman. "Olaf!" The Queen just said. She had longed to see him since he had left Arendelle days ago, but then she realized how much she had missed him. Seeing Olaf's innocent smile made it difficult to believe that something like the conference could exist.

"Did Anna come with you?" Olaf asked eagerly.

"Yes!" Elsa replied in delight. "She and Kristoff are with the horses, they'll be here soon." Remembering how Anna had nestled against Kristoff's shoulder in the sledge, Elsa hesitated about what to say. "Or as soon as they can." She finally concluded.

"And I can come back to Arendelle? I miss the everyone, especially the children."

Elsa slowly shook her head. "I'm sorry Olaf but the foreigners haven't left Arendelle yet."

"Hey! What's that?" Olaf suddenly said pointing at the scar on Elsa's face.

"This?" Elsa said putting her braid aside. It had hanged over her left shoulder partially hiding the scar on her face.

Olaf gaped at the sight of the great scar. "Did one of those foreigners make that?"

"He was a foreigner, but he wasn't one of the guests to the conference."

Olaf looked behind Elsa "Is he one of them?" The snowman asked mistrustfully looking behind her as if he had seen the man who had wounded her.

Elsa turned and saw Erick, who had also dismounted, looking in astonishment at the speaking snowman.

"Yes, he is a foreigner, but he is a good one!" Elsa replied, surprised by the vehemence of her own reply.

"Has he lost a relative and is in mourning?"

"Mourning? Oh! You think that because he in black! No he hasn't lost anyone."

"Are you saying that he wears those ugly clothes because he like them?" Olaf replied with an expression of utterly surprise.

Elsa chuckled. "Shush," She said putting a finger against her lips. "He could hear you."

Elsa raised to her feet trying to regain her composure. "Captain Erick Simonyi, I suppose that you have heard about Olaf."

Erick had heard stories about Olaf, but a story about a talking snowman and seeing one just in front of a faerie ice castle were completely different things. "I have. Captain Simonyi of the Imperial thirteenth of hussars." Erick formally introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs." The snowman replied opening his arms wide to Erick.

Erick, gaping speechless at Olaf, stretched out his arm and poked with one of his fingers Olaf's body

"What are you doing?" Olaf asked in surprise looking at Erick's finger.

"You are made of snow! I thought that you were a kind of automaton." The young hussar exclaimed.

"Of course I'm made of snow. I'm a snowman, what else I am supposed to be made of?" Olaf replied as if he was speaking with a not too intelligent child.

"Well, when I was six years old, I made one with a heavy stone inside. I enjoyed seeing the older boy who liked kicking my snowmen jumping on one foot when he kicked that one." Erick replied still bewildered.

Elsa, who had been watching them and was trying to keep from laughing all this time, couldn't hold herself back anymore. "You should see your own face." She said after chortling.

Erick looked at her with amusement and was about to reply but Olaf spoke first. "I'll go wait for Anna and the others!" The snowman said.

"Wait..." Elsa said, but before she could ask him to remain with them, Olaf had disappeared behind the bend in the path.

"I'm not used to seeing wonders like that," Erick said raising to his feet and looking at the ice castle. "This is incredible. Did you make it by yourself?" Erick asked wrapped up in the beauty of the Palace.

Elsa nodded while she looked at Erick, amused and pleased by his reaction.

"But did you make it based in some plan?" Erick finally asked.

"No. I imagined it while I was making it."

"You just imagined that?" Erick exclaimed, pointing to the great ice Palace.

"It was surprisingly easy. I like architecture and I suppose that it was a kind of an ideal building which I developed in my mind for a long time while I studied the edifices of different nations."

Erick looked at Elsa with admiration "I was fascinated by the ice sculptures you made over the castle, but I see now that they were just minor things."

"Do you liked them? I mean, have you seen any of the original buildings before? Are my replicas similar to them?" Elsa replied unable to conceal her interest. She had worked long time with the maps of the original buildings to develop her ice replies as similar to them as possible.

"I have seen the Upper Belvedere, Blenheim Palace and the Sainte Chapelle and I recognized them when I saw your ice sculptures. I have never been in Spain so I didn't recognize the Corduba Mosque until Corrado told me what it was."

"You have traveled a lot," replied Elsa.

Erick shook his head. "I visited the museum in the Lower Belvedere which is near the Upper Belvedere when I lived in Vienna with the old Duke, my stepfather, and I attended some receptions in the Blenheim Palace when I was in London with Ladislas."

"And the Sainte Chapelle?"

"When I was in London was often sent to Paris with dispatches."

"Do you really think that my ice replicas are similar to the original buildings?"

"They capture the spirit. Although you had little space to work with because Arendelle castle is far smaller than the Upper Belvedere or the Blenheim Palace, you made your ice sculptures shorter than the originals, so you stayed true to the designs. With the Sainte Chapelle you did the opposite; your castle is greater than that little chapel so you made your replica higher to maintain the proportions of those beautiful Gothic vaults."

"Have you studied architecture?" Elsa replied in surprise.

"My father said that an officer must be able to understand the explanations of his engineers so I studied military engineering. I'm only able to understand a plan or design a small fortification."

"But you have a good eye for buildings."

"My Italian teachers had a very broad concept of engineering and included medieval and Renaissance buildings like churches and palaces in my training," Erick replied. "And yes. I liked your ice buildings," Erick added raising a smile of delight on Elsa's face.

While talking, they had been walking towards the castle and finally reached the ice staircase which spanned the great chasm in front of the palace. Elsa stopped in front of it hesitating.

"I could remain outside if you want." Erick said.

Elsa looked at the black hussar who stood in front of her. She once again had the sensation that Erick's penetrating eyes were able to read her mind as if she was open book. "Of course not. Please, follow me," She replied while starting to climb the ice steps.

Erick followed the slender figure over the long flight of steps across the deep abyss. He wondered if he was more amazed by the beauty of the Palace or by the fact that it had been constructed only by one woman, a woman of delicate appearance, who stood in front of him.


	43. In the Ice Palace

The double doors of the palace opened when Elsa put her foot on the last step. Once they went through the gates, Erick looked in sheer astonishment at the great room behind them. "This is incredible! It even has your snowflake," Erick said gaping around and pointing at the high ceiling.

They crossed the room approaching to the two staircases which leaded to the upper floor. Elsa, amused, looked on in silence at the amazed hussar as he admired the frozen ice fountain. When they were nearly at the stairs, a great block of ice under one of the steps suddenly rose from the floor and revealed itself to be a huge, humanoid figure that started forward, towering over them.

In an instant, Erick put himself between the Queen and the ice giant, and drawn his saber before Elsa could react. "Elsa, get back!" he shouted.

At the sight of the sword, the creature roared. It's eyes shone with a dim blue light; spikes shot out of its joints, and he advanced as if he was about to crush Erick with a fist. The hussar tensed and prepared himself to jump at his enemy.

But then Elsa was suddenly between them. "Stop both of you! He is a friend," Elsa said.

Erick looked confused at Elsa, as she patted the hand of the snow giant trying to calm it down. "I'm sorry,. I should have known he was one of your snowmen," He finally said.

"Please, would you mind sheathing the sword? Marshmallow hates them ever since Hans wounded him with one," Elsa said turning to look at Erick's saber, which he still held in his hand.

"Ah, yes, sorry." Erick replied as he returned the saber to its scabbard. He had been so surprised that he hadn't even noticed the sword in his hand.

"Calm down, he's good and won't harm you nor I," Elsa said in soft voice to the still nervous creature.

It reminded Erick for a moment of a mother calming a child, but the child seemed too angry to be appeased.

"He wields a sword in the Palace," Marshmallow said with grave voice. "Like the others!" he finally added.

_He remembers the storming of the palace_, Erick thought as he started to unfasten his sword belt. "I'll leave that here," Erick said putting the sheathed sword on the edge of the ice fountain. "So there won't be any armed men in the Palace." He also placed his shako on top of the sword. Maybe without the tall cap with a silver death head on it, he would seem less menacing and it would be easier to calm the snowman.

That seemed to appease the giant although Marshmallow's empty eye sockets still looked at Erick with distrust. Elsa, who had turned to see Erick leaving the sword, beamed at him before talking again with her creature. "Good boy. Now, go and fetch me the object I entrusted you to keep."

The snowman hesitantly grumbled.

"I already told you that he won't hurt me. Now fetch what I want." Elsa commanded.

Marshmallow finally accepted Elsa's words and left the building. Erick noticed that he limped and remembered the stories he had heard in Arendelle about the combat in the Ice Palace. _If Hans of Westergard could that wound, then he is brave and very skilled with the sword_, Erick thought.

"Where are the Snowgies?" Elsa asked Marshmallow as he was about to reach the gates. Having not found the palace full of the playful little creatures, who would have made it impossible to have a moment in private with Erick, had surprised her.

"They are having a celebration in one of the nearby valleys. All of them are out," the snowman slowly replied before going out through the door.

Elsa grimaced before turning to face Erick. "He will be more comfortable out of the Palace. I'm sorry for Marshmallow. He's very protective towards me," Elsa said.

"I hardly could blame him for that. It's my fault. I should have known that a giant snowman would the perfect guard for your ice Palace. But I just reacted instead of thinking."

Elsa looked at him with sympathy. "When I created him, I wasn't in a very good mood and I think that it affects his personality. He is rather unsociable and fond of solitude."

"But Olaf seems utterly different."

"I created him in a moment of joy and I suppose that also affects his character."

"And the Snowgies you were talking about?"

"I created them playing a child's game of treasure hunt during my sister's birthday and they are quite mischievous."

"I would like to meet them," Erick said smiling.

"Don't be so sure of that," Elsa replied.

"It seems that all of them are like you."

"Do you say that because they have a childish innocence? They do like faery tales when Anna or I read to any of them."

Erick laughed. "No. Because they are willing to fight to the bitter end to defend their loved ones, but charming when they're happy."

"I'll show you the upper floor," Elsa quickly replied starting to climb the staircase.

"I'm ready to see more wonders," Erick replied while following her. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, he gave a glance at his sword on the ice fountain. The death head on his cap seemed to smile mockingly at him. He was uneasy being unarmed, although he kept his long knife. _A hidden weapon can always be useful_, Erick thought as he turned and began to climb the staircase behind Elsa.

When they reached the upper floor Erick's attention was grabbed by the great chandelier hanging from the ceiling, but he quickly examined the rest of the room. "This architecture reminds me of the Sainte Chapelle."

"Really?" Elsa asked. "It's possible that I like Gothic buildings."

"But I also see that you have some Renaissance details." Erick had gotten closer to the closed doors of the balcony and studied them. They were covered with panels, depicting in low relief, Anna's adventures a year before. The figures were almost perfect. They began with the revelation of Elsa's powers in the castle of Arendelle and ended with the Great Thaw.

Erick looked at the panel which displayed a frozen Anna and Elsa embracing her. "You made the damned Gates of Paradise from Firenze. The quality of the figures is exquisite."

"I had to replace the broken ones anyway and I decided that Anna deserved something like that."

"The broken ones? So is this where you defeated the Duke of Weselton's men?"

Erick's comment reminded Elsa the soldiers of Arendelle storming the palace, and both of the Duke's thugs trying to kill her. Erick was the first soldier who had entered the ice palace since then, and even his uniform brought back painful memories.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have brought that up," Erick said.

_I'm supposed to be trained in diplomacy and to conceal my emotions, _Elsa thought. "Not talking about it won't make it better," She replied. "I repaired the damage, but you're right. Here I nearly killed two men."

"According to what I've heard, you were fighting for your life," Erick replied.

"I had stopped them already, but I was about to throw one of them from the balcony,"

"In mortal combat, it is difficult to control your own emotions. It's not so easy to stop."

"You don't mind doing things like that?" Elsa asked.

"Of course I mind. I didn't enjoy interrogating Geoff, even if he was scum."

"But you did it anyway."

"When it was necessary? A soldier always has a place reserved for him in hell, and I will carry whatever sins that are necessary to protect my people, my beloved ones and especially you," Erick stated.

"Have you ever thought that Lord Halkett could use that same excuse to justify what is he doing in Arendelle?" Elsa asked ignoring Erick's last words.

"Yesterday I was no better than an assassin. Today I'm like an English diplomat. I'm not sure whether your opinion about me is improving or getting worse." Although Erick replied light heartedly, his voice had a touch of bitterness.

"Don't be silly! I didn't mean that. You're much better than them! You are, " Elsa stopped talking.

"What were you going to say?" Erick asked getting closer to Elsa and looking her straight in the eye.

"That you are too close," Elsa replied while she walked away from Erick.

Erick was going to follow her but at that moment Marshmallow came up the stairs. He still looked at Erick with distrust. "Did you get it?" Elsa asked, as she got closer to the snowman with a smile of relief on her face.

The snowman nodded and opened his right hand. The crown of Arendelle seemed a very small thing in his great palm.

"So this is the crown that everybody expected to find on your head. May I ask why you don't use it?" Erick asked looking with curiosity at the golden tiara.

Elsa nodded as she took the crown from the huge hand in front of her and looked how Marshmallow, after giving a last distrustful glance to Erick, went down the stairs. She had expected that the snowman would have brought the crown in a bag. Hopefully Erick wouldn't tell Anna anything. "It symbolizes the house of Arendelle and my own destiny as its head." Elsa finally replied as she turned to face Erick.

"I understand," Erick said.

Driven by a sudden impulse Elsa put the crown on her head. Maybe it was a reaction to her desire to finish everything regarding the conference as quick as possible, or maybe she wanted to see if she was brave enough to do it, or she just wanted to make sure that they wouldn't talk again about their previous topic. She stood in front of Erick in the crown of Arendelle. It was so delicate it seemed as if one of her locks of hair had magically solidified.

Erick looked at the young Queen. "I didn't think that anything could make you more regal, since your bearing is so Queen like without it. But I was wrong. You are far more than just a Queen."

"Don't say that in front of the delegates. The only thing above a Queen is an Empress, and I have enough problems. I don't want to be offered to your Emperor." Elsa airily replied.

"He doesn't deserve you," Erick vehemently said.

"You think too highly of me. He has one of the highest titles in Europe. Who would deserve me, if he didn't?" Elsa replied trying to seem unconcerned.

"The man who could convince you to say yes."

"Don't you mean the man who could convince the dignitaries of the conference to say yes ?" Elsa quickly retorted.

"How are the negotiations going? Will you get a compromise?"

Elsa sighed. "It's like a chess game, and they have already decided my fate. Prince Vladimiras will get the prize." Elsa replied, her tone of voice was cold and unemotional, but her voice broke at the last word.

"But I thought that you weren't going to give up. Maybe you can change the outcome," Erick said coming closer to her.

"Have you finally changed your mind? Do you think that I have a chance?" Elsa said raising her eyebrows. As she talked the Queen quickly walked towards the balcony. The doors opened to allow her to pass.

Erick took a deep breath before replying. "I know what my heart wants, even if any hope of getting it is unlikely," He replied following Elsa through the decorated doors.

Elsa looked at Erick. There was a sadness in her eyes. "I'm just a chess piece that must be sacrificed for a higher purpose."

"But you had a plan!"

"You have too much faith in my plan."

"I'll clutch at straws if that means the slightest possibility to get you Elsa." Erick had slowly approached Elsa, and when he said the last words, they were so close that, looking at Erick's face, it was easy for Elsa not to see his black uniform.

The Queen of Arendelle didn't try to get away and they gazed into each other's eyes, speechless for a long while. Erick slowly began to bend down and Elsa realized that he was about to kiss her. Then she noticed that there was frost glittering on Erick's hair. Frightened, Elsa stepped back and saw that all around them was covered with a thin layer of frost.

"Erick," Elsa said with soft voice. "In Arendelle, they are deciding who among the most powerful men in Europe will marry me."

"Do you think I'm not fully aware of that? I've repeated it to myself, like a drummer beating his instrument during a parade. But it's no use. I can't get you out of my head," Erick replied.

Elsa turned her back on Erick. "I'm not an ordinary woman, I'm the Snow Queen and," Elsa stopped talking as if she wasn't sure about the words to use. "Being at my side is dangerous," She finally said.

"You wouldn't be an ordinary woman even if you were a peasant without any powers, and you are worth any amount danger."

Elsa leaned her hands on the rail of the balcony and fixed her gaze in the deep abyss in front of the Palace for a long time before replying. "Leave Captain Simonyi," she finally said.

"W... what?" Erick stammered.

Elsa turned to face him. "What you are saying is inappropriate and dangerous." Elsa said, her voice imperious and cold as ice. "I'm sorry if my behavior or my words have raised false expectations about me. The best thing you can do is leave. I'm asking you to leave this palace now, and Arendelle as soon as is possible in order to avoid any further misunderstandings. "

Erick stepped back as if he had received a heavy blow in his chest. He tried to reply but her voice faltered and he had to take a deep breath before talking. "Maybe I could help you in some way before leaving? I would be..."

"No Captain Simonyi." Elsa sternly replied. "I thank you for all of your assistance, and Arendelle will be grateful and generous, but we can handle this situation without you."

Erick, after pulling himself together, bowed his head and left the balcony. As he went down the ice stairs his head buzzed with Elsa's words. Olaf had gotten tired of waiting for Anna and both snowmen were in the lower floor. They looked at the hussar with curiosity while he took his sword belt and fastened it around his waist. Seeing Erick armed again, Marshmallow looked uneasy.

"Where's Elsa?" Asked Olaf approaching Erick with a broad smile on his face.

"She is upstairs. I have to go. Good bye!" Erick replied putting on his shako and, after saluting them, crossed to the door. Once outside, Erick turned, and through the still opened doors could see Elsa descending the ice stairs and both snowmen approaching her. When Elsa reached the end of the stairs, she bent down to talk with Olaf while putting a hand on one of Marshmallow's fingers.

Erick stood in front of the doorway looking at Elsa. For a moment, she seemed again like a protective mother talking with her sons. _Mother of monsters_, He thought remembering the words of Von Leep and Filippo, the Count of Verona on the day of the bear hunt.

Erick shook his head feeling ashamed of his own thoughts. "Be man enough to accept her rejection." He thought. At that moment the gates closed behind him and he saw the black reflection of his uniform in the polished ice of the doors. "Black as a crow, and a crow can't become an eagle that's all." He said the last phrase out loud while going down the stairs over the chasm in front of the Ice Palace.

Elsa had seen Erick standing in front of the gates when she descended the staircase, but she had looked away and centered her attention in the snowmen. "Olaf, Marshmallow, it's possible that I may have to leave Arendelle in the future," she said as she bent down to talk with Olaf.

"You're leaving Arendelle?" Olaf replied in astonishment. "You told us that you could convince the foreigners to allow you to stay in Arendelle."

"I'm not sure. It's only a possibility. But you should be prepared for it."

"When? And where would you go?" Olaf asked. Marshmallow remained silent at their side but his eyes glowed brightly in her deep eye sockets.

"That's not important now. The important thing is that you should stay here in the North Mountain and hide from everybody. Anna will take care of both of you, if I leave Arendelle."

"But why couldn't I go to Arendelle when those foreigners leave?"

"I don't know if my powers are strong enough to maintain your personal flurry from that distance."

"But why couldn't I go back in winter?" Olaf asked with sad voice.

Elsa sighed. How she could explain to Olaf the cruelty of the people. "Olaf, remain here. If Anna gives her permission then you could return to Arendelle." Elsa turned her head and saw that nobody was in the gates. "Olaf could you go to the gates and see if Er... I meant Captain Simonyi has left?"

Olaf quickly went to the door and peeked out. He saw the hussar mounted on his horse descending the mountain at a full gallop. "I'm not sure if he is in a hurry or is trying to break his neck, but he'll reach the valley in a few minutes," Olaf told Elsa.

The Queen sat on the bottom step of the staircase, her chin in her hands and her elbows on her knees. She stared into the space in front of her.

"What happened? He looked really sad when he left," Olaf said approaching the young Queen.

"What happened?" Elsa repeated not even looking at the snowman. "He told me that I'm worth any risk and that he cannot stop thinking of me even while they are auctioning me off like a horse." Elsa shrugged. "In a word, he loves me."

A broad smile appeared on Olaf's face. "And do you love him?" The snowman asked raising his eyebrows.

"Olaf, in Arendelle they are deciding who will marry me. These are powerful men, and he is just a minor Italian Count. One of us trapped inside this nightmare is enough."

"I should have stayed at your side. He is just like the other soldiers," Marshmallow stated.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Elsa exclaimed. "He isn't a brute!"

"But you threw him out because you were afraid of what he might do. Didn't you?" Olaf asked.

Elsa shook her head while taking off the crown of her head." No. I asked him to leave because I was afraid of what I would do." She replied looking fixedly at the delicate crown which was so heavy in her hands.


	44. The Secret Marriage

_NA: From now on, when I find a term which could be difficult to understand I will mark it with a (*). It means that there is an explanation of the term at the end of the chapter. I hope it helps._

_Thanks to Drkphenix and Valathe for their encouraging reviews._

_Drkphenix it's great to read you again. One of my fears when I wrote the story was that the great amount of characters involved could make difficult to follow the plot. I'm glad to know that it is flowing smoothly._

_You should have already read what happened in the ice Palace. You were right and it was a major turning point in Erick's and Elsa relationship. But I'm not quite sure if it was in the expected direction. ;)._

_I'm fully aware that Lauren's work is great and badly needed. Great in both senses, quality (she doesn't only correct my errors she reworks a lot of phrases) and size (it is incredible the lot of corrections she made in every chapter)._

_Valathe, I fully agree with your comments about historic accuracy. I intentionally made some changes in the real historical settings (I'm sure that I also made others unintentionally :) when it was better for the story although I try to keep the flavor of that period. The western countries (France and England) are quite correct although I made some minor changes. The eastern countries (Austro hungarian Empire and Lithuania) have suffered more changes._

_Regarding Lithuania, Vladimiras was initially from Russia but I thought that if the real Russia from that period was involved in the conference he will,be a major player and neither England nor France would never allow him to get a foothold out of the Baltic and they would have joined against the great Russian bear. So I decided to weaken Russia which is not even mentioned, resurrect Lithuania and use it instead. So Vladimiras will be from a minor country which could side with England. But I have to recognize that the few descriptions I have made regarding Lithuania are inspired in the Russia of Peter the Great (Vladimiras, who initially was named Vladimir, took from that Russian King the treat of being a reformer in a country which was very backward in comparison with other countries)._

_And you are right regarding my language. :)_

_See you all in Arendelle._

* * *

_I thank you for all of your assistance, and Arendelle will be grateful and generous, but we can handle this situation without you. _Elsa's last words were stuck in Erick's mind and spurred him to go faster as he went down the hill at full gallop. Elsa's rejection had left the young hussar confused and angry. Now he vented his rage in a furious ride towards Arendelle while muttering to himself what he thought about Arendelle's generosity.

But once the hussar reached the place where they had left the sleigh he stopped his wild dash. _It's no use to break the leg of my horse playing the fool on this slope._ He though while taking a deep breath. _I'm sorry if my behavior or my words have raised false expectations about me. _Erick remembered Elsa's expression when she said those words; cold as ice. He attempted to calm down and looked around searching for Anna and Kristoff. He didn't want to leave without saying goodbye to the Princess of Arendelle.

_The best thing you can do is leave._ Erick replayed Elsa's words again while walking by the sleigh. It was deserted but for Sven, who was grazing in a nearby field. Erick dismounted and strode towards the spot where he had seen Anna and Kristoff for the last time.

He was so engrossed in trying to find a plausible explanation for Anna to leave so suddenly that he didn't noticed Sven's attempts to attract his attention. Finally, a loud bray made Erick turn to face the reindeer. Sven nodded his head towards the forest and made a moo which sounded like a question.

"I've had enough with the talking snowmen, I'm not going talk to a reindeer." Erick said in loud voice shaking his head in disbelief. He couldn't help remembering Elsa s slender figure at the bottom of the stairs bending down to talk with Olaf and Marshmallow. Sven snorted but the hussar turned, and ignoring the reindeer's protests, entered into the forest. Sven's sounds slowly faded, diffused by the trees around him, as he went deep into the thick forest.

The ground was wet and soft so it was easy for Erick to find the nearby yew grove where Anna and Kristoff had gone to. The hussar followed their tracks through the forest, his mind buzzing with ideas and emotions. _Leave this palace now, and Arendelle as soon as possible in order to avoid any further misunderstandings. _Erick shook his head and centered his attention in the tracks, trying to forget what Elsa had said.

After a short while, Erick reached a small open area with a little pool of limpid water in its center. The space was so densely covered that it was almost impossible to see the sky through to the crowns of the trees around it. Only a few sun beams filtered through the leaves, and they shone in the dimly lit space. Thick grass and moss covered the forest floor and the twisted trunks of the trees seemed like ancient columns, capriciously crafted by an unknown artisan, which sustained a vault of green leaves over the pool.

Erick felt out of place, the quietness and tranquility of the little place didn't fit with his own mood. He approached to the pool and saw the marks of Anna's boots close to the edge of the water. In fact the impulsive Princess had put one of her feet into the water. _It seems that she was looking her reflection and she was eager to see it. Maybe she was seeing how she looked with Kristoff's gift,._ Erick thought remembering a comment made by Kristoff about a gift from his family.

The hussar looked around him and saw an empty white bag a few meters away from the pool. Erick's well trained eyes noticed an area of flattened grass by the bag. _They sat there, Kristoff give her the gift and she ran to see her reflection in the pool. It could be a jewel or a hat, _Erick thought seeing that only Anna had approached to the pool, and according to the distance between her footsteps, she was running.

Erick strode towards the bag. It seemed to be of good quality and he would return it to Anna and Kristoff when he met them. But he stopped halfway and knelt to study some strange footsteps.

After looking at her reflection in the pool Anna had come back, the distance between her paces denoted that she had returned slowly and had finally stopped because Kristoff was in front of her. Erick could see the two pairs of opposed footsteps. The marks were deep in the soft ground. That meant that they had stood for a long time in front of eachother without moving.

Then Erick realized that all around the footsteps the ground was covered with white flowers. According to their position it seemed as if Kristoff had dropped them one by one. He took one of the little flowers and examined it. It was a white flower that didn't grow in the fjords nor the surrounding woods, but Erick was sure that he had seen that kind before.

The stem of the flower was twisted as if it had been plaited. _Maybe the gift was a crown of white flowers, but why would Kristoff take them off of Anna's head?_ Erick was thinking when he realized where he had seen those flowers. A few days ago, a couple married in Arendelle. The bride wore a crown made with the same flowers. They only grew on the high mountains and the groom had to gather them the day before the wedding. The bride wore the crown on her hair and the broom took its flowers off the weding night.

_A secret marriage. They won't wait for the decision of the conference_. Erick thought, suddenly aware of the meaning of the gift from Kristoff's family. He raised his eyes and looked at the little space around him, the dim light and the high vault of leafs over his head gave it a strange intimacy and solemnity. _Good for them! _The hussar thought, but Elsa's words crossed his mind immediately. _What you are saying is inappropriate and dangerous._

_I shouldn t be here,_ the hussar thought while using all of his dexterity and skill to slowly sneak out of the yew grove.

When he left the cover of the trees, Erick found Sven looking at him with regret.

"Ok, ok. You were right!" Erick said to the annoyed reindeer. "If I hadn't been so engrossed in my own misery I would have realized that it's not a good idea to follow a couple in love into the woods," Erick said in loud voice.

Sven shook his head and Erick could tell that the reindeer didn't think too highly of his intelligence. For an instant Erick could again see the black reflection of his uniform in the closed gates of the ice palace.

Erick turned, waved a farewell to Sven, and strode towards his horse. He had made a decision and the sooner he reached Arendelle the better. He only regretted not having said good bye to Anna. "Talking snowmen and reindeer who don't need to talk to say what they think. This is another world and, definitely, it is not my world," he said in loud voice while he mounted on his horse.

Once mounted, Erick swerved his horse and beheld the top of the North Mountain. He couldn't see the ice palace, but he pictured it to the last detail, and Elsa in the balcony leaning on the rails, looking to the abyss in front of the palace. _Leave Captain Simonyi. _Remembering Elsa's words Erick spurred his horse in a quick canter towards Arendelle.

* * *

The lonely sleigh started to climb the slope of the hill. It was almost dusk and the sun began to disappear behind the western mountains. "I don't understand why you fought again," an annoyed Anna said from the driver's seat twisting to see her older sister who was laying on the rear of the sleigh.

"I already told you. The fight was my fault and I asked Erick to leave immediately," Elsa replied.

"But why did you fight?" Anna asked.

Both sisters stared at each other for a long while. Elsa glanced at the white bag which Anna had been holding in her hands during the entire trip from the North Mountain. The Queen of Arendelle was about to ask her was in it in an attempt to change the topic of the conversation. But the delicate way Anna held onto it made Elsa think that it was too important to be used in such a way.

Elsa stretched her arm and took a blade of grass from Anna's hair. "You have more grass! What have you been doing? You have an entire field on your hair," Elsa said with a knowing smile on her face.

Elsa took advantage of Anna's momentary embarrassment to take a piece of paper and concentrate on it. "Don't worry. Now if you can excuse me, I want to study this."

Anna looked with suspicion at the paper. "What is it?" She was sure that it was just an excuse to avoid a clear reply.

"It was found in the assassins encampment. It's a map of the castle of Arendelle, but it is very strange." Elsa replied handling the paper to her sister, happy to change the topic of the conversation at last.

"Why is it strange?" Anna replied taking the paper and studying it.

"Because some parts of the castle aren't depicted. That means that the person who drew it was a guest without full access to the private sections. But it doesn't match because some areas like the roofs are very detailed." Elsa explained.

"I see," Anna replied.

"I'm trying to deduce who could have made that map, but," Elsa stopped talking and looked at her sister who had turned pale. "Anna, are you all right?" Elsa asked.

"Hans made that map," Anna said.

"Are you sure of that?"

"Of course. The night we met we went up to the roof of the castle to see the moon. That's why the map is so detailed in that part of the castle. And it is also very detailed in other sections we visited."

"And when he came to my cell, he saw the dungeons, which are also detailed in the map. I should have thought about him before!" Elsa exclaimed.

"I'm sorry Elsa. It's my fault! I shouldn't have…"

"Don't talk like that!" Elsa quickly replied. "You couldn't have known."

In that moment they reached the top of the hill and they caught sight of Arendelle. Kristoff suddenly stopped the sleigh and pointed out. "Hey! Look at the harbor." The mountain man said interrupting both sister's conversation."

Elsa didn't have Kristoff's keen eyesight and she needed some time before realizing what Kristoff was talking about in the dim light of the twilight. The Queen of Arendelle held his breath when she noticed two little ships, courier ships, which hasn't been there in the morning, anchored in the fjord.

"Kristoff, I can't see their banners from this distance. Are any of them French?" Elsa asked.

"The little one is Lithuanian, but the bigger one is French." Kristoff replied.

Elsa took a deep breath. She wasn't sure if she was relieved or afraid, but the French reply from Paris had come at last.

* * *

Corrado was on the way towards his home. He had been at the castle waiting for Elsa's return, but when the Queen had arrived she was monopolized by Kai who finally had the reply from Paris to the treaty proposal and the incredible news that King Konrad had been accused of the attempt on the Queens's life.

The engineer had waited some time for the end of Kai and Elsa's diplomatic preparations for the next day; but seeing Elsa's pale face and Anna's insistence to send the Queen to her bedroom as soon as possible, the old engineer had finally given up and decided that the barrels could wait a day more and started his return from the castle.

The night was windy. The day had started as a beautiful summer day, but it abruptly changed and a bitter wind had started to blow over the fjord. Everybody in Arendelle had noticed that it came from the North Mountain, and there had been people gathering in the main square who dropped their discussions when Corrado got closer. Now the wind has dropped, but it was still cold and penetrating.

Despite the wind and his lame foot he decided to go walking. The daily stroll to his house in the evening, from the harbor or the castle, was the only quiet moment in the whole day and he liked to enjoy it. Although today, maybe due to the piercing wind, his wounded foot ached more than usual.

The stabbing pain brought back memories of the young Lithuanian uhlan (*) who pierced his right foot with his lance pinning it to the ground. With a quick movement the soldier recovered his weapon, tearing Corrado's muscles. The Italian engineer, unable to keep his balance, fell to the ground and the Lithuanian raised his lance to strike a killing blow, but at that moment Erick unexpectedly appeared and thrust at his opponent's face with his saber. The Lithuanian was unable to react quickly enough and fell from the saddle crying out in agony with a great slash crossing his face.

While climbing the slope, Corrado remembered the events of that day. He and his men were putting a city by the black sea to the torch. Adrian Simonyi, Erick's step brother, had assigned such a task to the Italian engineer to take revenge for Corrado's opposition to the destruction of the city during the meeting of the army's high command.

Corrado grimaced remembering his anger doing that. He was so furious that the early entry of the Lithuanian riders in the city took him by surprise. The Uhlans fell on his men and a desperate fight started against the well trained cavalrymen. Corrado's men were non-combatant workers and they would have been captured if it hadn't been for the intervention of Erick's squadron. After destroying the harbor, more petty retribution from Adrian for having given support to Corrado's objections to the destruction of the city, the hussar had seen the Lithuanian cavalry entering into the city, and fearing for his friend, he had disobeyed his orders and followed them with his men.

Corrado made it to the top of the hill where house was, and turned to behold Arendelle. After leaving the burning city, they had also stopped on a nearby hill. Battered and exhausted by the bitter fighting, the men badly needed to rest and take care of their wounded. A hussar bandaged Corrado's foot and he still could picture the sad expression on Erick's face while he was at his side looking at the burning city and the huge column of black smoke which raised to the windless autumn sky.

Corrado shook his head, turned and walked towards his home. There was light in the house. _Erick has arrived from his excursion,_ Corrado thought. Erick hadn't told him where he was going. _Maybe he was with a woman_, he supposed.

Corrado opened the door and found, much to his surprise, that Erick was packing his saddlebag with his few belongings.

"What are you doing?" Exclaimed Corrado, his eyes wide open.

"Packing my gear," replied Erick, putting his best uniform, carefully folded, inside the saddlebag without even looking at the old Engineer.

"Why?"

"I m leaving Arendelle." Erick had found an odd boot and looked around for the other.

"Do you have received permission to leave at last?" Corrado asked raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"No but I'm tired of all this nasty affair." Erick replied as he looked under the bed for the lost boot.

"You have been here for months. Why do you want to leave right now?"

Erick found the boot stuck under the bed and was pulling it. "Because I would be only a nuisance and she has problems enough."

"She?" Corrado asked in utterly surprise.

"I meant he!" Erick quickly replied. "Here I'm just a burden for Ladislas who is the only one in the damned delegation who really seems to care for the negotiations."

"Ladislas could not care less about your presence in the conference and you are fully aware of that. Anyway I can't imagine you caring for Ladislas' worries! Are you really leaving Arendelle because of a woman?" Corrado said giving an incredulous gaze at Erick.

"I never said that." The hussar replied finally taking out the boot from under the bed.

"Who is she?" Corrado asked.

Erick gazed at Corrado for a long while, eventually clicked his tongue and went on packing. "Her name isn't your business." He curtly stated.

"I can't believe you. You once told me that the secret with women is not to be too interested with one of them, and wheter she says yes or no, since there are plenty of fish in the sea.

Erick shrugged, while he opened a drawer, as if what he had said some time ago was of no importance.

"When are you going to leave?" Corrado asked when he realized that Erick wouldn't reply.

"As soon as possible, I want to be far away from Arendelle before sunrise," said Erick, weighing his last bottle of Venetian wine, which had been won in a chess game with Rollo the Genoese Captain, trying to decide what to do with it.

"The negotiations are about to end. Why don't you stay a few days more?"

"Even one day would be too much," Erick replied.

"You will get into trouble. Your brother will ensure that. He'll be very angry." Corrado stated.

"My brother would have more reasons to get mad if I stayed here," Erick retorted with a wry smile on his face.

"Please, listen to reason. You are going to disobey a direct order!"

"I'm used to disobeying stupid orders. That habit once saved your life, don't you remember?"

"During a battle everybody has to interpret his orders in his own way and you are adept at that. But we aren't in a battle, and they won't accept any excuse."

"I'll try." Erick replied in an unconcerned way.

"Don't you realize that what are you saying is madness?" Corrado exclaimed almost shouting.

"It is not madness, it s cowardice!" Erick replied also almost shouting. After saying that, Erick took a final decision about the bottle. He opened it, as he took two glasses from a nearby table, and poured a glass of wine for himself and another for Corrado.

Corrado snorted, Erick was obviously deaf to reason.

"You worry too much." Erick said offering a glass of wine to Corrado. "Let's toast to each other s health. We don't know if we will meet again."

Corrado was going to reply, but he changed his mind and accepted Erick's wine. "For old friends and beautiful women," He said raising his glass with a broad smile on his face, but the engineer's eyes were cold and calculating.

* * *

(*) Uhlan: They were Polish light cavalry armed with lances and sabres. The title was later used by lancer regiments in the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian armies. (Excerpt from wikipedia)


	45. Gunpowder

"Queen Elsa, you won't regret signing this treaty," Christian Mullon said beaming at the young Queen. They were in the council chamber as had been arranged, as they would when they signed the other treaty with Lord Halkett. All the chairs at the great table had been removed except two which were placed one across the other at the middle of the long sides of the table.

"And don't worry about the frigate. I assure you that you will receive it in due time. The keel will be laid down in the shipyards this very month." After signing the treaty both had raised from their chairs and talked while Kai and Mullon's secretary picked up the already signed treaties from the table

"I fully trust you." Elsa replied smiling.

"And I'm happy to announce that this evening we will get a final resolution, and the conference will come to an end." Mullon told Elsa.

Elsa feigned surprise, although it just confirmed the information received from Kai. "I am very pleased. And who will be designated to marry my sister and I?"

"I'm sorry. We haven't agreed that yet. But don't worry we will inform you and your sister this evening."

"I have heard that Prince Vladimiras of Lithuania will be my future husband." Elsa said.

"I understand your interest for that issue, but nothing has been decided. Would you like him to be the chosen one?" Mullon said with a knowing smile.

Elsa hadn't expected that reply. She decided that not answering was the best option and just looked away.

The French diplomat interpreted her silence as an affirmation, and seeing that his personal secretary had already picked up the French copy of the treaty, he bowed before leaving the room followed by the assistant.

Once alone with Kai Elsa sighed. Kai raised his eyes from the documents he was picking up and looked at Elsa. The young Queen behaved strangely that morning. She had skillfully handled the French diplomat and her mind was as sharp as usual preparing the details for the end of the conference, but sometimes, when she wasn't needed, she seemed to have something else on her mind. _Taking into account what she is going to do this evening, it is only normal that she doesn't behave as usua,. _Kai though. "Did you get anything out of him?" He asked.

"He has officially confirmed that today the delegates will reach a final decision." Elsa replied.

The seneschal shrugged. "We already knew that from our other sources. Has he also confirmed anything about the chosen candidates?"

Elsa shook her head. "He has said that nothing is decided, and now probably thinks that I'm interested in Prince Vladimiras."

"Let him believe whatever he wants. Your supposed personal preferences won't affect the final decision of the conference anyway."

"I am fully aware of that." Elsa replied with a wry smile on her face approaching to the window and looking through it.

They remained in silence while Kai took the papers. "Well at last it is done. They have signed the treaty and everything is ready for this evening." Kai said breaking the silence.

"Yes." Elsa replied stopping daydreaming suddenly.

"Although we will never get that frigate. England wouldn't allow it." Kai stated.

"I knew that from the beginning, but I found it was the best way to keep Mullon's attention away from the key points of the treaty."

"You were right. I would have prepared a letter to renounce it as soon as we found an acceptable excuse after the end of the conference, so we will pay just a part of the price."

"It's a good idea." Elsa replied nodding.

"Even taking into account the distraction of the frigate, it has been surprisingly easy."

"It had been so easy because he don't take me seriously. He considers me to be a child playing the diplomat." Elsa stated.

"That is wonderful. I wish you could maintain that perception with our French and English guests as long as possible." Kai stated.

"I fear that it won't last. This evening, when we play our cards and the final decision of the conference is made, their opinions will change about me. Hopefully they won't consider me a fool." Elsa said.

Kai laughed. "We cannot know if we will succeed, but they won't think you a fool. That's for sure."

"Corrado wanted to talk with me yesterday when I arrived to the castle. I will go to the new harbor to talk with him and solve whatever problem there is." Elsa replied changing the subject.

"Don't you want to go to your bedroom? You will need all your strength for the closing of the conference."

Elsa raised her eyebrows while looking at the seneschal.

Kai sighed. "As you want Queen Elsa." He finally replied to the mute question.

* * *

Ladislas, the Imperial dignitary, raised his head from the report he was reading about the commerce of Arendelle when Mullon entered into the room. "Thank you for coming so soon. Have you already signed the treaty with the Queen?"

"Yes." The French diplomat replied getting closer to a table with some bottles and glasses on it and pouring two glasses of Cognac. Both diplomats were in a little room of the castle, which had its walls covered with little birds. They had previously agreed to meet there after the signature of the treaty.

"Congratulations! You will be rich thanks to this treaty. Being the middleman in a transaction like this among Arendelle and D'Arbanville is not a small thing."

"The point is that the French navy has made sure the supply of timber will go to our shipyards." Mullon quickly replied.

"Of course." Ladislas replied smiling. "And now we can end this stupid affair this evening. The Englishman does not want an Imperial to marry Anna, and therefore the more we delay the resolution of the conference, the more time they will have to find an excuse to avoid the marriage between the Imperial Candidate, Filippo Count of Verona, with the Princess."

"They will console themselves with the marriage of their own candidate, Prince Vladimiras, with the Snow Queen." Mullon replied sitting in a chair in front of the Imperial and handling a glass to him.

"Anyway, the sooner the better. I have an idea to convince Württemberg to join our alliance." Ladislas replied, before starting to explain to Mullon that he had found that a member of that delegation was relative of one of his friends in the Imperial army, and he could use that contact to press on the delegation of the small German Kingdom.

Mullon listened with interest to the explanation. Days ago, Ladislas had accepted to renounce Queen Elsa's hand in exchange of France's support to the Imperial candidature for Anna. The imperial's support and contacts had been invaluable building the alliance which had forced the English to accept the Count of Verona against his will. Anna's future husband will be in a unique position to ensure the flow of timber to France. The negotiations had been hard between both diplomats but at last a secret pact between France and the Empire was agreed upon.

"On another subject, would you talk with Duke Simonyi?" Ladislas said when he finished his explanation.

"Of course, but why?" Mullon replied.

"He heard rumors saying that you had agreed with Lord Halkett not to support his claim for Elsa's hand, and accepted Prince Vladimiras' claim, so that the Englishman will allow the Count of Verona to marry Anna. I would be grateful if you told him that it's for the best."

"Of course I will, but even Duke Adrian will realize tonight that he won't marry Queen Elsa." Mullon stated.

"Tonight everybody will know it, but now only you and I know it, and so it should remain."

"Don't worry. The only person who has asked me about that has been Queen Elsa after the signing of the treaty, and I feigned ignorance about who would be her future husband."

"That's for the best. She is young and will have time enough to know her husband the rest of her life."

"Speaking again about Duke Adrian, wouldn't it be better to tell him now what will happen?" Mullon asked.

"My dear friend, then he would think that I haven't defended his interests to the end and he is a too powerful enemy." Ladislas replied.

"But you are supposed to defend the interests of the Empire."

"For a Great Duke of the Empire, his interests and the interests of the Empire aren't always the same. Being put between two Dukes, Simonyi and Berganza, I have to appease both of them and do all of my diplomatic work during my spare time."

Mullon smiled at the Imperial's words. He couldn't help but be fond of the cynical Imperial diplomat.

Ladislas went on. "This evening, I will defend to the last minute both Imperial candidates. When the moment comes and you desert us forcing me to accept only the minor prize of Anna, I will be forced to act very offended. Don't get angry if I have to say some unpleasant words."

"I wish we can close this silly affair with just a few unpleasant words." Mullon laughed raising his glass.

"And as soon as possible." Ladislas replied also laughing.

* * *

Erick leaned against the door frame of Corrado's house and took a deep breath. His head ached and, every time he breathed, he felt stabs of pain in the old scar on his head. He slowly raised his hand to protect his eyes from the light of the sun which was already high in the morning sky.

"It's late." He muttered as he staggered towards the trough in front of the house and, kneeling beside it, ducked his head into the water. He remained in that position for as long as his lungs allowed him, until he emerged gulping great lungfuls of air.

He repeated this three times until his head seemed to clear. _Damned Corrado, _he thought while he tried to raise to his feet, but he winced due to a sudden and sharp pain in his head which made him kneel and plunge his head back into the water.

* * *

When Corrado reached the new harbor, he went straight to the great wooden building which would be the harbor master's office and main warehouse when the new harbor would be finished. Now Corrado used the rooms in the front section, which was two stories, as his own office and the rear part which was a single great room with a high roof as a depot for the more delicate or valuable materials used in the construction of the harbor.

He was about to reach the building when he saw Mark, the Captain of the harbor guard, talking with one of his men. He seemed worried. The Italian hesitated whether to approach both men, but he finally decided that Mark would be able to handle any issue and he had a lot of work to do.

The Italian engineer used to arrive at the harbor before sunrise, but he had overslept and now the sun was high in the windy morning sky. He usually woke up with the first lights of the dawn, but today he had been deeply asleep. Getting Erick drunk the night before had been easy, but the old Italian had needed to drink too much as well, and now he had a slight headache.

Having just a headache, Corrado figured that Erick would have a severe hangover; the young hussar never could hold his alcohol, and he was so engrossed in his sorrow for the rejection of the unknown woman that it had been easy to fill his glass again and again while Corrado just sipped his. When they had finished the bottle of Venetian wine, Corrado even opened one of his own bottles to ensure that Erick wouldn't be able to ride that night.

Corrado looked at his house in the top of a nearby hill. _He cannot be far away from Arendelle before sunrise. Hopefully he won't wake up until midday and after sleeping perhaps he will be more reasonable, _the engineer thought, although he doubted that Erick would change his mind. Corrado turned, shook his head, and entered in the front part of the building where he had his office.

* * *

The man looked as Corrado went towards his office through a little window in the main door of the great warehouse. _The lame Italian haven't been informed, but he is not the problem, _he thought looking away from Corrado to look at Mark who was talking with the guard.

He was a Swedish merchant who used to trade with Arendelle and pass information to the English about the Norwegian Kingdom. He had received instructions to enter the new harbor and discover what was going on. But it was easier said than done. Arendelle was so small that everybody knew everybody. In those conditions it was impossible to mingle with the rest of the workers when they entered the harbor. Everybody would have recognized him as a stranger.

So he had snuck into the harbor but it was well guarded and a guard had surprised him entering into the warehouse. Now the damned soldier was talking with Mark. The Swede cursed his bad luck. Mark was like a bloodhound. He used to control the flow of goods in the harbor of Arendelle and it wouldn't be an easy task to get rid of him.

The guard who was talking with Mark ran away towards the other side of the warehouse and Mark started to call men while he watched the front door. The merchant stopped peeking through the window and saw great amounts of food, mixed in with different building materials. _The English had to be informed as soon as possible. When Lord Halkett knows about what they are storing, the frigate will destroy the entire new harbor,_ he though.

The spy locked the main door to hold off Mark for a while and looked around for an escape. He found the door that connected the great warehouse with the small rooms into which Corrado and his assistants worked. If the main door was watched by Mark and the rear one by the other guard, it would be the only way out. But Corrado and his people were in the other side and they would be surprised to see a stranger coming in from a warehouse which was supposed to be closed.

_Unless they were too scared to notice such detail. _the merchant thought approaching the center of the warehouse where many little barrels containing sperm oil (*) were piled up around one of the great support pillars.

He quickly moved several barrels besides the wall which separated the offices from the great room. Opening one of the barrels, he spread the oil over the wall. _They have a lot of oil. If they work by night, they need a lot of oil lamps. _He thought.

He easily set fire to the flammable material. _In the confusion caused by a fire, I will have a chance to scape. Everything will be destroyed by the English navy anyway._ The blaze quickly spread on the wooden walls splashed with oil.

_I have to hurry up or Mark will catch me before the fire is big enough._ When he moved away from the great flames, he noticed a large pile of hemp, which was used to make ropes, in the opposite corner.

He quickly took a piece of wood, lit it afire, and threw the burning object onto the hemp. With the help of the accelerant the flames raised towards the wooden roof.

The merchant looked at the wall which separated the warehouse from the offices. The fire covered the entire wall and spread to the roof. He smiled with satisfaction hearing shouts of terror coming from the other side of the wall and Mark telling the people inside to come out of the building. In a few minutes he could leave the warehouse and try to slip away from the guards who would be busy enough fighting the fire.

_It's strange, Mark should already be trying to break down the door. _He turned and saw how the flames on the pile of hemp surrounded another great pillar, then he noticed that behind the hemp, there were several great barrels and smiled. _Queen Elsa won't be able to pepper her meals, _he thought looking at the fire which started to burn five great barrels with the word pepper written on them.

* * *

(*) Sperm oil: Sperm oil is a waxy liquid obtained from sperm whales. It is a clear, yellowish liquid with a very faint odor. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, sperm oil was prized as an illuminant for its bright, odorless flame (Excerpt from Wikipedia).


	46. Fire

Erick had finally recovered from his sorry state, and although his head ached from the terrible hangover and he wanted to go to Corrado's home and sleep all day long, he got his new horse out of the stable and started saddling it.

_Now I only have to finish packing and I can leave Arendelle and that meddlesome Italian behind_, he thought looking towards the harbor and seeing the limping figure of the Italian engineer going into the great house which he used as office. Erick shook his head, a gesture that provoked stabs of pain, and finished saddling the horse.

He had just entered the house to gather his belongings when he heard the sound of a great explosion. He ran out and looked towards the new harbor and saw the cloud of smoke from a gunpowder explosion, rising from the burning remnants of the great warehouse into which Corrado had entered few minutes ago.

"What the hell?" Erick exclaimed as he jumped on the saddle and urged the horse into a full gallop towards the harbor.

* * *

"It s good to see you uncle Howart, but I thought that you would be in the castle," Allan Halkett said. He was on the deck of his frigate, which was anchored in front of the new harbor, saluting his uncle who had just arrived to the ship.

"Everything is already decided and I want to enjoy the deck of a ship under my feet," Lord Halkett replied.

"What do you mean with everything is decided?" Allan replied. "You told me that the French delegate was still discussing some points."

"He accepted everything once he received permission from his government to sign his own treaty with that foolish girl. I told you that he was only bidding his time while he waited the response from Paris."

"Then the conference is finished."

"It will be official this evening. Elsa will go to Lithuania and we will be rid of her."

"And a French puppet will manage Arendelle."

Lord Halkett smiled. "The French will discover that an Imperial, even a petty Veronese Count, isn't an easy puppet. Sooner or later France and the Empire relations will get tense. And then we…"

Suddenly the sound of a great explosion came from the new harbor and they saw one of the great warehouses of the new harbor blow up in a cloud of black smoke. Both men gazed speechless as the remains of the building started to burn.

"Gunpowder." Finally Allan said breaking the silence.

"Yes. A great deal." His uncle replied.

* * *

Elsa was on the sleigh which she had used the day before to go to the ice palace. Although she initially disliked Anna's idea of putting a bed in the rear, she had realized that it was the best option to move quickly until she recovered from her wounds.

A stable boy from the castle handled the sleigh, and four Arendelle dragoons rode behind as an improvised escort. Rolf had recruited them in the courtyard when he was informed that the Queen was about to leave the castle alone.

They all headed to the harbor by a way which made a long detour. Elsa had ordered the driver to use that path on the basis that it was a smoother road and would be better for her wounds. But actually she wanted to be as far as possible from Corrado's house and the direct route was too close to it.

The strong wind worried Elsa. She knew that it was unnatural and caused by her powers. _I have to calm myself down, _she thought trying to clear his mind. _I thank you for all of your assistance, and Arendelle will be grateful and generous_. Elsa remembered the words she had told Erick in the ice palace. _As if what he had done for us could be paid with money. Why did I choose such stupid words? I offended him,_ Elsa thought. _I hurt him._

At that moment a strong gust of wind suddenly blew over them upsetting the horses and moving the branches of the trees. _What's the use of asking the driver to take the longest path to avoid passing near Corrado's house. _Elsa thought. _I have to forget..._

Suddenly the sound of a great explosion interrupted her thoughts.

* * *

"I don't like this. Too much people seem certain that Prince Vladimiras will marry Queen Elsa." Duke Adrian Simonyi said angrily. The situation was too complex so he felt unsure and that uncertainty annoyed him.

They were in the Duke's private room; one of the best rooms assigned to the people attending the conference, although he considered it barely acceptable. He had agreed to receive Mullon, the French diplomat of dubious origins, to hear his explanations about the progress of his claim to Queen Elsa's hand.

"That is completely without foundation. In a conference like this, there are always rumors. I can assure you that nothing has been decided yet." Mullon politely replied. The Duke was a tough nut to crack. He wasn't very bright, but he was suspicious of everybody, and seemed furious at the mere idea of not marrying Queen Elsa. _Ladislas will have real problems trying to appease that fool tonight, _he thought.

"Then why haven't I been confirmed as Queen's Elsa future husband yet? It's humiliating enough to share the Imperial claim to both sisters with Berganza's lackey. But being forced to compete with the Lithuanian is an affront."

_So the Duke didn't accepted voluntarily to share the claim with Berganza's man, _Mullon thought. He had already suspected that the schism inside the Imperial delegation was greater than the funny situation humorously depicted by Ladislas, but having a confirmation from that brute was good.

"We have to keep up with the formalities. He is a Prince after all." Ladislas, who was besides the Duke, commented trying to keep the Duke from building the tension inside the Imperial delegation.

"The Prince of a ragged band who ran away from me through the snow all the way from the Plains to his petty Kingdom." Duke Adrian replied, swallowing the bait.

"Well. That was long ago. I can assure you that he hasn't the slightest opportunity to convince the English." Mullon quickly intervened. He didn't want to continue the conversation.

"There won't be any unexpected surprises?"

"My dear Duke," Mullon said with his warmest and more friendly tone of voice. "I can assure that everything is under control and..."

In that very moment the sound of a distant explosion boomed in the fjord.

"What the hell is that?" Duke Adrian exclaimed.

"I don't know" Mullon replied.

"Gunpowder." Ladislas said as he went close to one of the windows. _Slow combustion gunpowder for heavy cannon, _he thought looking at the great cloud of black smoke over the new harbor.

* * *

Mark was on all fours trying to rise. When he had seen the fire inside the warehouse he had run towards the building to alert the people inside. The explosion had left him unconscious for a while. Now shocked and numb, he tried to remember what he had to do. He remembered that he was in a hurry a few minutes before but he couldn't remember why. There were people around him, and when they noticed that he was moving, they came closer and helped him rise. They spoke to him, but he was unable to understand them. At that moment a horse stopped beside the group of men.

"Where is Corrado?" Erick asked to the men around Mark.

"He was in his private rooms on the upper floor," one man, who Erick recognized as Corrado's assistant and translator, said pointing at the second story of the building. Unlike the great warehouse in the rear of the building, the front part wasn't still completely enveloped by the fire, but the roof had collapsed due to the force of the explosion.

"He can't be alive. The roof would have crushed him," the man added.

"A roof isn't enough to kill that damned Italian," Erick replied. "Give me your coat. I ll need the protection."

The guard who was helping Mark complied. "Good luck," he said.

Erick took the dark green coat, submerged it in a nearby trough, wrapped himself up with the thick and soaked fabric and entered into the building.

Once he crossed the door, he found more fire than expected. The door which connected the front and rear parts of the building had blown away and great flames of fire, helped by the sperm oil barrels, entered through. The stairs to the upper floor, which were by the door and connected to the roofless upper room, were like a chimney. The flames ran up the stairs setting them alight.

Erick wanted to run up as quick as possible, but the stairs were full of debris from the roof and the second floor. It didn't seemed heavy but it was on fire and was impossible to move barehanded.

Luckily near the outside door, there was a set of picks and shovels. Erick took a heavy pick and started to go up the stairs through the burning wreckage. The soaked coat protected him, but also hindered his movements and the stairs creaked ominously.

When Erick finally reached the end of the stairs, he saw Corrado. The engineer had left his room when he heard Mark's warning and had nearly reached the stairs, but one of the great beams which supported the roof had fallen over him. The joist was over his lower back, pinning him to the floor.

Erick dropped the heavy pick and got closer to the Italian. "Corrado, can you move?" Erick shouted as he knelt beside him.

"No. I'm stuck! What are you doing here?" The engineer asked as he coughed due to the thick, black smoke that filled the room.

"I came to thank you your wine." Erick replied as he took off the soaked coat and covered Corrado with him.

Erick studied the beam which held Corrado. It was great and heavy. One of the ends had crushed an iron stove which was off to the side of the room, and the other end had hit the wooden floor breaking through it. In the narrow space between the floor and the beam, created by the crushed stove, Corrado was trapped. "You re lucky, if it hadn't been for the stove you would be dead."

"Why, is it be better to die burned alive instead of quickly crushed?" Corrado wryly replied.

_It's too heavy to lift. Maybe I could push it aside to free him,_ Erick thought as he leaned his shoulder against the wood and put pressure with all his might for a long time, but the beam was stuck hard and it didn't move.

Erick stopped pushing. The air was full of smoke and the heat was unbearable, but he tried to calm down. _Think or you will have risked your life just to see how Corrado dies._ Erick thought as he approached to the point where the beam had hit the floor. The heavy piece of wood had broken the wooden planks and was stuck between two thick beams which supported the floor. _I will never move that damned beam._

Erick had gotten close to the point where the floor was broken and one of the planks, previously damaged by the falling joist, gave way under his weight. The hussar nearly fell to the lower floor and only his quick reflexes, which allowed him to get a hold, saved him.

Erick staggered towards Corrado. The Italian's head was covered by the coat and he didn't move. _Maybe he is unconscious. _Erick felt dizzy. The heat and the smoke were also affecting him. The floor creaked under his feet. _The fire under the floor is burning the pillars. I have to hurry or we will fall with that damned beam over us. _Erick thought.

Suddenly his eyes lit up and he looked around the room until he found what he was looking for. The heavy pick he had used to get up the stairs. It was close the stairs which were now completely ablaze. _We cannot return through that hell. _Erick thought in dismay as he warily began to approach the tool. The floor was especially unstable near the stairs, and he knew that if he fell he would never reach the second floor again.

He seized the pick by the iron point which was closer, but he dropped it immediately shouting in pain. He realized that the metal point was touching the flames from the stair, and was too hot to grasp it.

Erick decided that there was no time to lose and just ran to seize the pick and return to Corrado. The floor didn't break and Erick, holding the pick with both hands began to hit the wooden planks around Corrado as if he wanted to make a hole through the floor.

Corrado, who wasn't unconscious, raised his head still covered by the coat. "What are you doing here? Don't be an idiot; leave this place!" The Italian shouted.

"Shut up and grasp my legs. If I cannot move the beam I will move the floor beneath you."

Corrado felt one of the planks giving way under him. Erick's pick had broken it and the engineer's weight was enough to bend it. He grabbed Erick's legs who, although his right hand ached due to the burn, was relentlessly beating the floor around Corrado.

Suddenly the floor collapsed and Corrado hung from Erick's legs. The hussar tried to catch the Italian but he was dizzy and nearly overcome by the smoke. Both man fell through the floor onto a great table in the lower floor, which was previously used by Corrado and his men to spread plans upon it. Erick couldn't help falling over Corrado who fell unconscious.

Erick was also stunned by the fall, the heat, and the smoke, but he staggered to his feet. The shoulder of his shirt was ablaze but he just ignored it, seized a chair and threw it through a great window breaking the few remaining panes and muntins.

Erick stooped down and dragged Corrado towards the broken window. The hussar was about to faint and could hardly breathe, but he slowly moved the Italian engineer towards the broken window. When he was near enough, he tried to raise the unconscious man to pass him through, but he wasn't able to do it.

At that point people from outside stretched their arms through the window and helped Erick. They were dragged from the burning building and carefully placed over the grass. Buckets full of water were used to soak them and put out the flames on their clothing. Erick immediately tried to get up, but he could hardly breathe let alone stand on his feet.

"Take it easy. You're lucky to be alive," Mark, who had recovered from his previous shock, said patting Erick's non burned shoulder. He had been the one who had helped Erick to get through the window.

Erick also recognized Mark as the one who had been about to kill him with a harpoon a few nights before in another warehouse in that very same harbor. _Life is strange, _Erick thought looking at the man who had saved his live few minutes ago while he slowly sat up on the grass.

Mark tried to revive Corrado and Erick looked on in silence at them. Finally the engineer started to cough and move. The guard helped him to sit. "The doctor will be here soon. I sent one of my men to fetch him," Mark said.

"Then you will be well attended," Erick told Corrado as he got up.

"Are you leaving?" Corrado asked looking at Erick.

The hussar nodded. He was still dizzy, but he already feel much better." I have to be far away as soon as possible."

Corrado shrugged. "It's madness, but I wish you good luck."

"Take care of yourself old man." Erick replied turning and striding towards his horse.

"Are you crazy? Mark exclaimed. "You have burns on the hand and shoulder. You can't ride in that condition."

Erick mounted on his horse wincing due to the pain on his shoulder." Don't worry about me. Thanks for your help." Erick replied saluting the guard as he swerved his horse and urged it in a slow trot. It was a sluggish pace, but he didn't dare go faster. "And keep practicing with the harpoon!" Erick shouted twisting on the saddle and raising his hand when he was about to disappear behind a bend of the path.

Mark, who had been watching Erick's departure, raised his eyebrows and turned to Corrado. "Your friend is crazy. He will not get very far in his state."

"I have seen him command a squad with a huge slash in his head and fever for a week. Don't worry about him and tell me what had happened."

"One of my men saw a Swedish merchant, a smuggler who always was in the limit of legality, entering the warehouse and..." Mark was interrupted in his explanations by the sudden arrival of the Queen's sleigh and her escort.

"Help them!" Elsa ordered the dragoons who followed her nodding towards a little warehouse near the burning building. Pieces of burning wood had fallen on its roof from the explosion, and now it was also ablaze. A group of soldiers and harbor workers were trying to rescue as many goods as possible from it.

The Queen got close to Corrado and Mark. "How many people are wounded?" She asked kneeling beside Corrado. "Take off you jacket," She said to the Italian engineer.

"What?" Corrado asked in surprise.

"I'm going to use my powers to heal you. They are useful with burns. The cold soothes the pain and the wounds heal quicker." Elsa had discovered that with Kai's niece. During the last autumn, she had burned her hand trying to seize a chestnut from the fire and Elsa discovered a new use for her powers.

It took a little to convince Corrado to take off his jacket. But finally he consented and Elsa began to heal him. Elsa was ready to bear the pain caused by using her powers while she healed the burns. But she discovered that if she generated the cold slow enough, she wouldn't feel pain.

Corrado had some minor wounds but the soaked coat had protected him, and it was easy to heal him while listening to Mark's explanations about the man who had entered into the harbor, and the origin of the five barrels of gunpowder which killed him. After healing Corrado, Elsa healed a few men who had gotten some minor burns.

"We will have problems because of that explosion." Elsa said looking at the English frigate.

"I saw Lord Howart Halkett in a boat coming towards Arendelle," Corrado who had recovered and approached to Elsa, said.

"Then I have to return to the castle as soon as possible." Elsa said. "Is anyone else hurt?"

"No Queen Elsa." Corrado replied.

"You forget your Imperial friend." Mark said.

"Imperial friend? Are you talking about Er , uh Captain Simonyi?" Elsa asked.

"Yes. He rescued Corrado from the burning building risking his own life. He was burned on his hand and the shoulder," Mark explained.

"Queen Elsa. He don't need any help," Corrado said but Elsa had already turned and quickly strode towards her sleigh.

* * *

Erick had finished packing his belongings and bandaging his wounds. The hand would be a problem to handle the reins, but he hadn't to go too far. Just leaving Arendelle would be enough. He put on his jacket carefully avoiding moving his shoulder too much, seized the saddlebag and went through the door of Corrado's house.

"Are you leaving Captain Simonyi?" Elsa asked. She was waiting beside Erick's horse. Her sleigh had gotten as close as possible to Corrado's house, and from there she had walked, almost ran, the last stretch of the path to found Erick's horse, saddled in front of Corrado's house.

"Yes Queen Elsa. I have received orders to leave Arendelle immediately. It is a lucky coincidence." Erick replied.

"Indeed it is." Elsa said. "Thank you for saving Corrado."

"You don't have to express any gratitude. He is a friend of mine." Erick replied not even looking at the Queen as he approached to his horse and put the saddlebag on it.

"I have been told that you are wounded. My powers are good at healing burns."

"It is not necessary, since I'm not wounded."

"Then why do you have that bandage on your hand?" Elsa asked.

"This is just a scratch. I have ridden in the Plains with far worse wounds."

"But you are not in the Plains, you are in Arendelle."

"Only for a short time longer," Erick replied turning and entering into the house.

"Captain Simonyi, you will not leave Arendelle with your wounds untended," Elsa said in a commanding tone of voice.

"Queen Elsa. I'm an imperial soldier and I'm not subject to the authority of Arendelle's crown." Erick replied in a rather official manner.

Elsa took a deep breath before replying. "Erick, don't be silly, sit down and let me see your hand," she said in a soft tone of voice.

Erick looked at the figure of the Queen. _So delicate and strong at the same time,_ he thought as he hesitated. Finally the hussar sat on his bed and offered Elsa his bandaged hand. The Queen knelt in front of him and delicately untied the improvised bandage that covered Erick's hand. She noticed that Erick had cleaned the wound before bandaging it. It wasn't a severe burn, although it was surely annoying. Elsa put her hand over Erick's and started to slowly cool the burn.

Erick shivered and took a deep breath, although his reaction wasn't provoked by Elsa's powers. He was too aware of how close Elsa was and how tight her dress was. He looked away and tried to focus his attention on a mandolin which hung on a wall.

Elsa finished healing the wound and bandaged it again. Now the burn wasn't so red and it would heal quickly. "Now the shoulder."

"The shoulder is less severe than the hand." Erick replied.

"I want to see it anyway."

Erick took off his jacket and shirt and Elsa sat on the bed behind him to examine the shoulder. It was larger than the one in the hand, but not severe. Elsa smiled seeing that Erick's wounds weren't dangerous and gently brushed the skin by the burn. She noticed that Erick tensed up. "Did I hurt you?" She asked.

"No. Don't worry," Erick replied looking fixedly the space in front of him.

Elsa quickly healed his shoulder and searched for other wounds. Erick was naked to the waist in front of her and she couldn't stop looking at Erick's slim back. He wasn't hefty; rather on the slender side and slightly-built, but he was wiry, and while bandaging the shoulder, Elsa could feel taut muscles under soft skin. She was on the bed just behind Erick, in the narrow space between him and the wall, and suddenly realized how close they were.

"Let me see the other hand," Elsa said quickly getting up from the bed and kneeling in front of Erick.

"That one is fine," Erick said, although he didn't get up and offered his left hand.

The left hand had just a few minor burns. "You re right," Elsa said raising her eyes which she had kept low, looking fixedly at his hand. "Did I make that one?" The young Queen asked stretching her arm to touch a long scar in Erick's left side. She remembered the day she had been about to impale the young and irreverent hussar with an icy spike.

Erick lowered his eyes and looked at the scar as if he realized its existence in that very moment. "No. A member of Vladimiras' escort made it, during a skirmish. You just made a scratch."

Erick raised his head and their eyes met. They stared silently into each other's eyes. Elsa heard a bird singing under the bright sun, but the sound was muffled by the thick walls. In the dimly lit room, it seemed to come from far away; from another world full of things like the conference, the delegates and Arendelle. In that moment, all those things seemed very distant and unreal as if she had dreamed of them. But her hand over Erick's side was very real. His skin was warm and Elsa could felt that she was reacting strangely from the contact. A little voice in her head said that she had to leave, but it came also from far away like the other things.

Erick slowly raised his hand, very slowly as if he tried to catch a butterfly which could fly away if she realized what he was doing, and touched Elsa's left check. The Queen of Arendelle took a deep breath and, for a brief moment, tensed up when the hand touched her skin, but she immediately relaxed and, closing her eyes, gave a soft moan.

Erick bent down to kiss her and Elsa eagerly rose to meet him.

"What are you doing?!" Corrado shouted from the door where he stood, his eyes wide open in surprise. He had decided to come back home to make sure the bad tempered Erick didn't fight with the Queen.

Elsa stood up and backed away. She hesitated in the middle of the room feeling her cheeks blushing, her eyes wide in surprise. "I, I have to go." She finally stammered passing by Corrado and leaving the house.

Erick had remained motionless with his hand raised as if he was still touching Elsa's cheek. He slowly clenched his hand into a fist. "I should have hit you in the head with the pick." He said to Corrado.

"You will get yourself killed! She will marry one of the most powerful men in Europe. How will he react?" The engineer was so excited that he went on talking in French as he had done when Elsa was in the room.

* * *

When the young Queen of Arendelle left the house she felt dizzy and had to lean against the wall while trying to pull herself together. She heard Corrado's words and the phrase _You will get yourself killed _made her shiver. W_hat I have done! _She thought feeling the weight of Arendelle, the conference and the delegates again on her shoulders as a heavy burden that made her stagger as she went towards the sleigh. She could hear the shouts of Corrado who had switched to speak in Italian. She wasn't able to understand a single word, but the tone of voice was enough to sadden her.

* * *

"At least you will leave Arendelle." Corrado said when he calm down and stopped shouting.

"What are you talking about?" Erick asked.

"You were about to leave Arendelle this morning."

"I was wrong. The negotiations are about to end. I will stay a few days more?"

"Even one minute more would be too much," Corrado replied.

"If I left, I would get into trouble with my step brother. He would be very angry." Erick stated.

"Your step brother will have more reason to be mad if you stay here. Come on Erick! You know that whatever you do will be useless."

"Of course it will," Erick just replied.

"But staying here would be madness. It is even worse than leaving," Corrado exclaimed almost shouting.

"It is not madness, it s sheer desperation!" Erick replied as he went out of the house to get his dress uniform from the saddlebag.

* * *

N.A: Hi everybody.

Thanks for the positive reviews. Valathe the marriage between Kristoff and Anna wouldn't be an impediment for the delegates. There is no problem to marry Anna after a month (or less) of becoming a widow. And yes, OneEightActual Elsa and Kai will take pains to keep the delegates at bay before the end of the conference. You will see it in the next chapter during the end of the conference.

See you in Arednelle


	47. Last Orders

Anna carefully wrapped the thread around the fragile stems and slowly tied the knot. The sun was setting and it was a difficult task in the dim light that entered through the windows. But she made it and set the little bunch of small white flowers beside the others. It was the last bunch, and Anna looked satisfied at her work. It had been painstaking to tie so many little flowers, but now she only had to find a warm, dry, dark place to hang them upside-down. She had picked them up, one by one, before going with Kristoff to the ice palace. And she would dry and keep them. At that moment somebody knocked at the door.

"Come in." Anna said.

Elsa entered in the room. She wore an Imperial style dress like the one she had worn the first day of the conference, although it wasn't as lavishly decorated. Much to the Queen's surprise, making it hadn't been as painful as she expected. She looked at the bunches of flowers on Anna's desk and her lips curved in a knowing smile. "I see that you are ready for this evening." Elsa said looking at her sister.

Anna wore a dress similar to the one she had worn on coronation day, but with the colors of Arendelle. "Yes, although I would prefer not to go to the ball."

"But we have to go as soon as possible. Kai is waiting for us in the Great Hall and he may need us to deal with the delegates. The explosion in the harbor has provoked a diplomatic earthquake."

"What are they going to do?"

"They want to close the conference issue as soon as possible and, although it will be hard, I suppose that they will accept our excuses until that is resolved. After the conference," Elsa shrugged. "Everything will depend on its final outcome."

"Will you finally explain to me your scheme for the conference?"

Elsa shook her head. "No. You will know it today. I'm sorry and I know that it is unfair, but I can't explain anything. After the conference you will understand why." And hopefully you will forgive me, Elsa thought.

Both sisters looked at each other. Anna noticed that Elsa wore her long, blonde braid over her left shoulder exposing the long scar on her right cheek, although the day before, when they visited the ice palace, she had worn it over the scar.

"You changed your braid." Anna just said.

"Yes. Gerda grumbled and griped, but I want them to see it." Elsa replied.

Anna suddenly realized the strange contrast between her sister's elegant dress and the terrible scar on her cheek. She was also aware of her own swollen face, which had great bruises from the fight with Geoff, would present an odd image compared with her beautiful low-cut dress. But, unlike Elsa's scar, my bruises will disappear, she thought.

"Is there something wrong?" Elsa asked, surprised by the sadness she had noticed in Anna's eyes.

"I was just wondering if I should have chosen a dress which covered my neck. So the marks wouldn't be visible." Anna said referring to the bruises that Geoff had made on her neck when he had pinned her against the ground. "I don't mean that you should cover your..." Anna hesitated not knowing what to say because she feared to hurt her sister talking about her scar.

Elsa guessed Anna's thoughts and smiled. "We do look odd with our beautiful dresses and spoiled faces." She said humorously. "But for everybody from Arendelle, seeing you, they will be proud of their brave Princess Anna."

"My face will heal but your scar will remain forever."

And I prefer to wear it instead of you, Elsa thought as she took Anna's hand.

Both sisters left the room. When closing the door, Anna couldn't help giving a glance to the flowers. When I return to this room I will already know if I can proudly show them or must conceal them the rest of my life, the Princess thought although she derived consolation from the idea that they would remain with her whatever happens.

* * *

"We are still investigating what happened." Kai told Lord Howart Halkett who was in front of him, with his nephew, the Captain Allan Halkett, at his side.

"I haven't asked you what happened. I want to know why there was such a great amount of powder in that warehouse," Lord Halkett sharply replied.

Both were seated around a little tea table in a small room near the Great Hall. Lord Howart Halkett had nearly ordered Kai to have a talk in private and after almost one hour of harsh words the atmosphere was strained.

"Well, according to our guards a man snuck into the harbor and entered that warehouse before the explosion. Maybe both events are related." Kai politely replied although he was tired. He had dealt with Mullon before talking with Halkett and while it had been a difficult conversation, Halkett was being more aggressive.

"Are you suggesting that a man could have carried that much powder while sneaking into the harbor?" Allan said. "I don't buy that. Your guards cannot be so stupid."

"I'm not suggesting anything!" Kai quickly replied. "I'm just saying that the only thing we know is that a man, a Swedish merchant who used to commerce with Arendelle and England, snuck into the warehouse." Kai's tone of voice was now as sharp as Lord Halkett's. "We should investigate him. Maybe we will discover why he entered the harbor or who ordered him to do it." Kai emphasized the last phrase. He was quite certain that the spy had been sent by the English and he wanted to put an end to the conversation.

Lord Halkett looked piercingly at the seneschal for a long time before replying. "We are too busy now with the conference. But I will get to the bottom of this." He finally said with a menacing tone of voice.

"I assure you that I will as well. I don't like spies." Kai replied, unruffled. "Excuse me but I have a lot of things to do." Kai said as he stood up and went out of the room leaving both men alone.

"Are you going to accept that excuse?" Allan said to his uncle.

"It's no use if we quarrel with that stubborn servant. Once the conference confirms Prince Vladimiras as the future husband of Elsa, we will deal with him to find out what happened. He will do the dirty work for us. Now we have to ensure that everything goes as we want in the conference. Let's talk with Friedrich von Schrader."

"Why do you want to talk with that old walrus?" Allan asked, his mouth twisted in disdain.

"Because that old walrus is working hard to keep Württemberg and other minor German Kingdoms out of the French alliance. He is fighting a diplomatic duel with Ladislas. the Imperial delegate. I understand that you dislike him; in fact his presence is hardly bearable for me, but if we made deals only with the people we like, we wouldn't make any deal at all."

"And do we really need him to do that task?" Allan said making a face.

"He knows the little German Kingdoms well. I have just given him permission to assign some commerce rights in the London harbor to these petty Kingdoms, and he has been able to convince some of them." Howart replied rising from his chair and strolling towards the door.

* * *

Anna and Elsa were on their way to the Great Hall. The lamps hadn't been lit yet and the corridors were dimly illuminated. Anna was explaining to Elsa the way she was drying the flowers when she noticed that Elsa wasn't listening. Since they had returned from the ice palace, Elsa was distant. Anna supposed that she was worried about the imminent end of the conference and was about to put her hand in front of Elsa's face when they met Mullon, the French delegate, in the middle of a corridor which connected the Great Hall with the courtyard.

"Queen Elsa." The diplomat politely said bowing his head.

"Messier Mullon." Elsa replied trying not to smile when she noticed the way Anna was glaring daggers at him. She hadn't forgotten the first day of the conference when her elder sister talked with him and Madam Gonzaga.

"I would be grateful if you could give me some official explanation to the explosion in the new harbor." The French delegate asked without further ado. He was irritated. Arendelle's seneschal, much to Mullon's surprise, had skillfully avoided all of his questions about the explosion, and some German Kingdom's decision to join his alliance was faltering due to von Schrader's maneuvers. That old battle horse had unexpectedly revealed himself as a skilled diplomat.

"A Swedish merchant snuck into the harbor. We are still investigating what happened, but..." Elsa began to reply.

"I have a very good memory. If you are going to give me the same story as your seneschal, we can postpone this conversation until tomorrow. Then everyone's position will be clearer." Mullon abruptly interrupted.

"Yes. I think that would be the wisest option." Elsa politely replied.

You should congratulate your seneschal. I have been trying for almost half an hour to get something from him, but he is very evasive." And he is also good at teaching you what you have to say, the French diplomat thought.

"That means a lot coming from you. I'm sure that Kai will agree with me about that." Elsa replied with an imperturbable smile on her face.

Mullon humorlessly smiled. "Maybe he won't stay in his current position for much longer. You are just buying time. Tomorrow we will continue with the conversation and we will already know the lucky man who will be your husband. He will be busy enough getting a satisfactory explanation to that question, whatever the cost, and maybe he will need a scapegoat."

"Kai won't be scapegoated, whatever the cost; and I doubt that my future husband will be happy being selected as King of Arendelle. Once we are married, you will put such heavy burden over his shoulders that he will regret our marriage even before the wedding night," Elsa replied with a bit of irony in her voice.

"I'm sure that your future husband would be much happier on the wedding night if you didn't wear your braid on the right side. So you would hide that..." Mullon stopped talking when he realized that he had gone too far. "Well, I think we can continue with this conversation tomorrow."

"Yes." Elsa just replied looking at the French diplomat as if she was daring him to add something else, but Mullon quickly bowed and left both sisters alone.

Elsa took a deep breath and turned her head to look at her sister. Then she realized that Antanas, the nephew of Prince Vladimiras, was seated alone in a nearby bench by a window. He was half-hidden by a great pillar and they had been so engrossed in the conversation that they hadn't noticed the presence of the young Lithuanian in the dim corridor.

"Hello Antanas." Elsa said.

The young Lithuanian stood up as he bowed his head. It was easy to see that he was sad, but he quickly concealed it. When he hides his emotions, he shares a likeness with his uncle Vladimiras, Elsa thought.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. I was just..."

"You don't have to apologize. You were here before us and we have disturbed you." Elsa interrupted him. "In fact I want to express my gratitude for your help the night of the attempt on my life. Rolf has told me that your idea was vital to obtaining horses for the patrol."

"In the end, it was of no consequence. Princess Anna and Erick had already dealt with the assassins." Antanas replied obviously embarrassed and surprised by Elsa's words.

Anna looked at the young Lithuanian, who seemed about to flush, with sympathy, but Elsa noticed that he was looking fixedly at the great scar on her right cheek.

"Do you also believe that I would look better if I hide the scar." She asked in soft voice.

Antanas raised his head as if he had been slapped in the face and looked at Elsa right into her eyes. "Seeing you defying them, even having received that wound, you are more beautiful than ever." He replied forgetting his shyness. The tone of voice he used when saying the word 'them' make it sound like an insult.

Anna beamed at the young Lithuanian, but now it was Elsa's turn to be surprised and embarrassed.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Antanas said.

Elsa shook her head. "Don't worry Antanas, but we have to leave. Kai is waiting for us."

Both sisters continued towards the end of the corridor that led to the Great Hall leaving him alone. Antanas stood in the middle of the corridor following them with his eyes. Anna couldn't help twisting and smiling at him.

Vladimiras and his companions let both sister pass as they bowed their heads. He had been searching for Antanas and had arrived at the end of the corridor during the last part of the conversation between Antanas and both sisters, just in time to notice the embarrassment of the Queen.

"What did you say to the Queen?" The Lithuanian Prince asked when he got close to his nephew. "She seemed quite uneasy."

Antanas looked at his uncle and the two men who followed him, Steponas and Aras the seneschal of the Lithuanian King. "I just said that she looked more beautiful than ever even with that scar on her face."

Vladimiras looked in silent at his nephew for a long while before replying. "Are you all right?"

"Yes. Don't worry about me. But if you don't need me I would like to be on my own."

Vladimiras nodded and Antanas went down the corridor that lead to the courtyard.

"Do you remember what I told about a child tasting the honey from a jar?" Steponas said. "I was wrong. He won't taste the honey. He is bold enough to steal the entire jar."

The Prince of Lithuania didn't even reply, but his face had a grave expression.

"I'm sorry. But now that you have made sure that Antanas is fine, we must take a final decision. Please, meditate it carefully. If we make the wrong move it could be disastrous for our country," Aras interrupted.

"What do you think?" Vladimiras asked Steponas.

"You already know what I think. And you are asking that silly question just to buy time and postpone your decision." The soldier replied with a smile on his face that twisted the great scar crossing his face.

At that moment Erick appeared in the corridor on his way towards the Great hall. The Lithuanian Prince noticed that he looked worried and he asked inwardly what could worry a man who had carelessly defied the Empire's diplomacy in general, and a Great Duke of the Empire in particular.

"Hello Erick. What happened this morning in the harbor? I have been told that you saved Corrado's live." The Prince asked when Erick came close enough.

"Hello Vladimiras. Steponas, Aras." Erick said to the three men. "It's a long story and I'm in a hurry. I will have to tell you later." Erick replied, surprised at seeing Aras. He had met the seneschal during the peace negotiations between the Empire and Lithuania and he knew that one of his duties was to always be near the Lithuanian King. Erick supposed that he had come on the Lithuanian courier ship that had entered the harbor the day before. If he was in Arendelle, the reason had to be important.

"Is everything alright?" Erick asked Vladimiras although his eyes looked at the counselor.

"No but this is also a long story and I will also explain it to you later."

Erick nodded again and saluting the three men went on his way towards the Great hall.

* * *

Elsa and Anna entered in the Great Hall. The atmosphere was strained. The imminence of a final resolution hurried everybody to get their objectives or consolidate them. The orchestra played a waltz but nobody was dancing. The explosion in the new harbor added uncertainty to the ambience.

Kai immediately came over to them. "Queen Elsa, Princess Anna. The explosion in the harbor has startled all the diplomats of the conference."

"What have been the reaction of the main powers?" Elsa asked.

"The French tried to get something from me, but I keep him at bay although he was very persistent."

Elsa nodded. "We came across him in the corridor and he made a comment to that effect. What about the English?"

"He has been very aggressive. The explosion has caused him concern."

"That could be a favor us." Elsa said.

"Maybe. But it also makes everything more dangerous." Kai replied.

"It has been dangerous from the beginning." Elsa retorted.

"Why could it favor us?" Anna asked.

"Because a worried enemy may be easier to convince." Elsa answered.

"Or he could react in an unexpected and undesired way." Kai added. "We could have gone too far".

"What are you talking about?" Anna asked confused.

"You will find out soon," Elsa just replied as she made a gesture to Kai to stop the conversation.

Anna didn't seem pleased with the answer, but she accepted it. "And what about the Imperials?"

"It has been a bit strange. He didn't approach me and I had decided that it would be better to resolve this issue with him as soon as possible. But when I asked him if he wanted an explanation about the explosion, he just said that I knew what he would ask and he knew what I would answer. So we could spare ourselves the trouble and focus on the outcome of the conference. Tomorrow we will know if we will be allies or foes."

Elsa couldn't help smiling. "The Imperials are quite surprising. I see that we have come too late to help you."

"Save you energies for the meeting." Kai replied. "It would be better if you returned to your private rooms in order to avoid undesired conversations and impertinent questions. The meeting will start in half an hour and the bell of the chapel will chime to warn everybody."

Anna looked at the orchestra and the center of the hall which was empty because nobody was dancing. "Anyway it doesn't seem very lively."

"Everybody has their minds on the end of the conference." Elsa stated. "Kai if you don't need me I will be in the balcony over the roof of the Great Hall."

"Youre going to the eagle's nest?" Anna asked in surprise.

"Yes. I want to be alone." Elsa said.

"I'll wait here for Kristoff." Anna replied. Elsa nodded and left. Anna noticed that a lot of people looked fixedly at her elder sister while she left the room.

* * *

Friedrich von Schrader was seated near the orchestra because it had a good view of the entire room. He was trying to find one of the secretaries of the Württemberg delegation. He had sent Otto to search for him in the adjoining room which was used as an extension of the Great Hall, and he was watching the other doors of the Hall.

The orchestra wasn't playing very well. Maybe they were affected by the sad atmosphere or by the fact that nobody seemed to hear them. Friedrich made a gesture to an Imperial hussar; a friendly man who was a wonderful piano player.

"Please, could you play something when the orchestra finishes that piece? I yearn for well-played music and they seem to be too nervous today." Friedrich asked to the hussar.

"I understand them. This seems like a funeral." The Imperial hussar replied looking at the hall. "Do you want a lively piece to dance to?"

"No. Nobody will dance anyway and the mood of the party doesn't match with lively music. Play something beautiful for my tired ears."

The hussar saluted him. "At your command." He said and went close to the orchestra.

Friedrich began to look for the man from Württemberg, but at that moment the Queen of Arendelle left the Hall and he couldn't help looking fixedly at her slender and proud figure.

Otto Von Schrader entered the Hall and saw his uncle wrapped up in the Queen. "Uncle Friedrich. I haven't seen the secretary." Otto said once he got close to the Prussian Count.

The diplomat turned his head in surprise. "I'm sorry Otto. I didn't see you coming."

"Yes. I did notice that you seemed fascinated by the Queen."

"Taking into account what is going to be discussed tonight, the way she behaves, so composed, so calm, is admirable."

"You seem rather fond of her. You could try again to be accepted as her husband." The young Prussian teasingly said.

"Due to my age and my physical condition, the only favor she could make me in bed would be to fetch my half-full chamber pot at midnight, and that would be an absolute waste for such a woman." Von Schrader wryly replied.

"According to the Englishman she is just a foolish girl."

"In diplomacy it is very dangerous to assume that somebody is foolish."

"Come on uncle! According to the parts of the treaty between England and Arendelle which we have been allowed to read, she doesn't seem very intelligent."

"Are you sure of that? There are too many things that don't add up. Why does she want to make two men, men that are forcing her to marry against her own will, rich? I have been told that the treaty with the French will also make Mullon very wealthy."

"Maybe she is foolish enough to believe that doing that they will have mercy on her."

"Then why has she forced England to sign the treaty instead of Scandinavian timber, Halkett's company. That has made the process longer and more complex. She must have a good reason to do that."

"She said that he wanted it to ensure the peace between both countries, but England won't hesitate to declare war on Arendelle. They could impose whatever conditions they want in a new treaty once they crush this petty Kingdom. This is further proof that she is foolish. "

"Believing what the other side said in a diplomatic negotiation is the real proof that you are foolish." Friedrich retorted.

"I see that the explosion in the new harbor bothered you." The young Prussian said.

"That treaty bothered me from the beginning. How much gunpowder Arendelle is able to gather wouldn't be important in the end. It would only mean a few more dead British or French sailors, once they storm Arendelle. " His uncle replied.

"Have you talked of this with Lord Halkett?"

"I tried but he wouldnt listen to me. He just wants me as a faithful assistant to convince the petty German Kingdoms not to join the French alliance."

"I don't understand why you accepted that dirty task. The final arrangement of the conference left us out of Arendelle. We don't owe him anything."

"Because it is good to be on good terms with England, and because I get the opportunity to choose what members of the delegations I approach with Lord Halkett's offers. Since those offers are privileges to trade in London's harbor, those people will be grateful to me for having chosen them. So I have managed to create new contacts or reinforce old ones."

Otto looked at his uncle with a knowing smile on his face. "So we will get a consolation prize."

"We get our main goal. From the beginning of the conference, I was sure that we wouldn't get either Elsa or Anna's hand since Lord Halkett doesn't trust us. My real objective have always been to meet and make contacts with the people from the minor German Kingdoms." Friedrich stated.

At that moment von Schraders keen eyes saw the Württemberg secretary entering the hall followed by Captain Simonyi. "He has come at last. Let's talk with him." The old diplomat said raising from the chair.

* * *

Anna was waiting for Kristoff near one of the doors to the Hall, although she risked an undesired meeting. She saw Friedrich and Otto von Schrader coming close and she feared that they wanted to question her about the explosion, but the Prussian diplomat, much to her relief, finally approached a man who had just entered the room.

"Hello Anna." A voice said from behind the Princess.

Anna turned to find Erick. "Hello Erick." Anna replied with a broad smile on her face. "Yesterday, you disappeared without a single word! Why did you and my sister fight again?" She asked slightly annoyed remembering the return from the ice palace.

"I'm sorry. It was my fault. I'm looking for your sister to apologize. Would you tell me where I could find her?" Erick answered.

"I'm sorry Erick, but..." Anna started to say remembering Elsa's wish to be alone. But then she realized that Elsa had been behaving in a strange way since the discussion with him.

"Please Anna, I think it is important." The Imperial hussar said.

"She is in the eagle's nest. I can show you the way." Anna replied, deciding that having been so affected by the discussion with Erick, maybe it would be good for Elsa to resolve their differences, whatever they were.

"Don't worry. I remember the way." Erick replied turning, and went toward the doors that led to the private areas of the castle.

Anna made a gesture to the guards of the door to allow free pass to Erick and saw Erick disappearing through the door. Hopefully they won't fight again. She thought turning to see the great Hall.

Kai approached her to solve some minor problems regarding the distribution of the delegates in the final meeting. He proposed asking Elsa, but Anna decided that her sister shouldnt be disturbed before the meeting and solved one by one the problems with Kai's help.

When they finished, Anna realized that the Prussians were now talking with Lord Howart and Allan Halkett. Allan and Anna's eyes met across the crowded room, but the Englishman just looked away. Anna couldn't help feeling sad.

Prince Vladimiras joined the English and the Prussians. Steponas, his trusted man, and a man who Anna hadn't seen before went with him. The Lithuanian introduced the unknown man and talked for a brief moment with Lord Howart Halkett, then both men split away from the group and left the room together.

At last Kristoff, clad in his uncomfortable official dress, entered the Hall. She smiled to him and thought that maybe they could dance before the start of the meeting, but at that moment the Imperial hussar, after the orchestra had finished the piece they were playing, began to play Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, first movement, on the piano.

Anna was moved by the beauty of the music but also thought that its sadness seemed like a bad omen for their own expectations in the resolution of the conference.

* * *

NA: Hi everybody.

I have made a quick calculation and I think I will need 30 additional chapters to complete the story and believe me the worse for Elsa and Anna is still to come. I hope there are chapters enough fo you valathe ;)

See you in Arendelle


	48. A Terrible Thing

After the crowded and bright hall, the dark balcony dimly illuminated by the lights from the windows below and the moonlight was a great relief. Elsa could hear the music from the orchestra and stared at the moon trying to take her mind off the conference. She was exhausted; the negotiations with the diplomats, the attempt on her life, and the conversations with Erick were finally taking their toll on her.

_It's a pity that Anna was present for that conversation although the worst is yet to come. The negotiations are in its final stretch and I cannot fail now, _the young Queen thought regretting the way she had handled the conversation with the French delegate. She had been unnecessarily ironic and Mullon, surely also under pressure, had overreacted. She should have played the innocent girl and feigned ignorance, but in these last days, every time she talked with the delegates, she had an empty feeling in her chest that made her angry.

_Tomorrow we will know your future husband. _Elsa remembered Mullon's words as she leaned on the rail of the balcony and looked at the ships anchored in the fjord. She realized that she was gazing at the huge dark figure of the Imperial brigantine. _How could I have made such a slip!_ Elsa thought remembering what had happened in Corrado's house after the explosion in the new harbor. _Hopefully Erick will be far away. It will be for the best. _She thought with a heavy hearth.

The door behind the Queen opened at that very moment. She turned and stood looking as a figure clad in black entered the balcony. Erick hesitated when he saw Elsa's brilliant figure. Her ice dress gleamed with the light from the windows below. All the way through the corridors of the castle, he had been doubting if this was the right moment to talk with Elsa, since she had problems enough. But he was convinced that they had to talk before the end of the conference. Erick began to slowly approach Elsa.

"You haven't left Arendelle." She finally said breaking the silence.

"No." He replied.

"You lied to me. Your superiors didn't give you any order to leave Arendelle."

"You also lied to me when your rejected me in the Ice palace."

She shook her head. "I didn't lie. I said that you had to leave Arendelle and I still believe that."

He slowly nodded before replying. "Why do I have to leave? You didn't seem to dislike being close to me this morning." Erick replied as he slowly get closer to Elsa's bright figure.

"Erick. This morning you and I..." She stopped hesitating.

"This morning, I was about to kiss you and I'm sure that you wouldn't have hated the idea." He was now in front of her.

"My personal preferences are not the point in this issue. Erick I'm going to marry in a few weeks, maybe days. We cannot..."

"We can have faith that your plan will work." He interrupted her.

She took a deep breath before replying. "Erick, you always thought that it was impossible, and my plan doesn't..."

At that moment the Imperial hussar began to play in the room below, and the contrast with the half-hearted interpretation of the orchestra was so striking that both heard the beautiful music.

"The first movement of the moonlight sonata." Erick finally said.

"Yes. It's Beethoven's fourteenth piano sonata." Elsa replied touched by the sadness and beauty of the music.

"Would you care to dance?" He asked holding out his hand to her.

"Erick, we can't." She answered.

"Of course we can't." He stated. "This piece can't be danced because it's a sonata. It's a sad but beautiful piece of music which nobody thought we could dance to," Erick replied keeping his hand raised in front of Elsa.

The young Queen of Arendelle slowly took his hand. Erick put his arm behind her waist and started to dance with her. They didn't move to the beat of the music but slowly danced to their own rhythm under the moonlight.

Elsa leaned her head on Erick's chest and sighed. Everything about the conference again felt distant. _But the delegates are still here,_ she thought. "Please Erick, be reasonable. I'm condemned. I cannot scape from that. But you are free! And I want you to keep your freedom." Elsa begged raising her face and looking at Erick with imploring eyes.

"Your words remind me of a Lithuanian love song I heard a long time ago." Erick replied. His voice was soft but it was laced with bitterness.

Elsa, surprised by the comment, couldn't help smiling, but there was also sadness in her smile. "A beautiful song that talks about the happiness of love?" She asked looking at Erick.

Erick slowly shook his head. "That song describes love as a terrible thing. It is the end of any peace, destroy lives, ruins futures, breaks oaths, and treasons loyalties." Erick took a deep breath before going on. "But it makes us free because it breaks the chains that tie our lives to reason." They looked into each other's eyes for a long time. "You know, I only considered them to be beautiful words until I met you." After saying that, Erick gently kissed Elsa. The young Queen closed her eyes when their lips touched and put her arms around his neck, while he embraced her as if he could retain her by the mere strength of his arms. She kissed him so passionately and desperately that Erick almost felt pain in his lips.

After the kiss, Elsa panted and Erick realized that she was crying. "Elsa, what happened?"

Elsa shook her head as she moved away from Erick. "I have to go they are waiting for me in the Council Chamber." She replied hearing the chime of the bells of the castle chapel which warned everybody of the beginning of the conference.

"But why are you crying?" Erick asked.

"Because this is a good bye kiss. We'll never see each other again. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," the Queen of Arendelle said while she turned and go out of the balcony leaving Erick alone and confused.

* * *

Anna was waiting for Elsa in the Council Chamber. Several delegates had already arrived and took their seats near the walls of the room, but much to Anna and Kai's surprise none of the main delegates had arrived yet and the long table was empty, but for Anna and Kristoff who were seated beside the great chair reserved for Elsa. Kai, who was very worried, had left the room to find out what was going on.

Anna looked around the room. The Prussians and the Lithuanians were also absent. Anna remembered Prince Vladimiras introducing the unknown man to Lord Halkett during the conversation between the Prussian and the English. _What are they up to? _She thought as she turned her head and looked at Kristoff who was sitting at her side. The mountain man noticed her nervousness and discreetly hold her hand under the table as he smiled at her.

At that moment Elsa entered into the room. Anna gazed at her elder sister in astonishment. Elsa had pulled herself together, but Anna could tell that something had upset her.

"Are you all right?" Anna asked.

"Just a bit tired." Elsa answered.

"Did you talk with Erick?" Anna asked.

"Yes. I have."

"Did you fight again?"

"Unfortunately we didn't." Elsa answered much to Anna's surprise. "Where is Kai?" Elsa asked.

"He was very worried because the English, French and other delegates haven't come yet. He has gone to fetch them." Anna explained.

Elsa winced at Anna's words. "He has good reasons to be worried. We were supposed to have a private meeting with Halkett and Mullon before the beginning of the main one."

"Why?" Anna asked.

Elsa gave a slight sigh. "I was supposed to have talked with them before, but I wanted to pospone it to the final moments of the conference so they won't have time to find an alternative before the final agreement."

"An alternative for what?" Kristoff asked.

"For the compromise I hope they will accept. As both of you will be with me when I talk with them you will know about it soon."

"Are we going to attend that meeting?" Anna asked.

"Yes, but you have to keep quiet, no matter what is said." Elsa replied, as she looked as Rolf, who had entered the room, followed by Mark, approach the table. "Do you promise me to do as I say?" The Queen asked her sister.

Anna didn't like the conditions but she had no option and just nodded.

"Queen Elsa. We are ready." The Commander of the guard said.

"Be discrete and act only if I or Kai give you a sign. Remember that the room is full of high dignitaries of foreign countries." Elsa replied to the Commander.

Anna gulped when she realized that both men were with them to prevent any aggressive reaction from the delegates. _What is my sister going to do? _She thought. Mark, one of Rolf's most trusted men, usually checked the cargos of the ships in the harbor and was used to dealing with merchants in a polite way. Hopefully, if he had been chosen instead of Harold, a fight wasn't expected.

Mark looked at Anna and smiled at the young Princess. He was the third son of a noble of Arendelle and, during their childhood, he had played with Anna and Elsa before the accident that forced Anna's parents to close the doors of the castle. Anna smiled back at the Captain.

At that moment, Kai entered the room and came towards them.

"Did you talk with the English and the French?" Elsa asked Kai when he was close enough.

"Yes my Queen and we have a problem. The English and the French delegates have shut themselves in the Portrait Room with the Imperial, Prussian and Lithuanian representatives in a private meeting and I haven't been able to get the English and the French delegates apart." Kai told the Queen.

"And do you know why they are in that meeting?" Elsa asked.

"I do not. It's very strange behavior," Kai replied.

"Maybe it is related with the unknown man who left with Prince Vladimiras. He introduced him to Lord Halkett as if he was an important person." Anna said.

Kai turned her head to face Anna. "I have also seen him, but not having been officially introduced, I thought that he was a minor Lithuanian noble acting as courier on the ship which arrived yesterday."

"Whatever the Lithuanians are doing we cannot wait any longer. Did you tell Lord Halkett and Mullon that I want to talk with them?" Elsa asked Kai.

Kai nodded. "They said that they are too busy to leave the meeting. If you want to talk with them they suggest that you can go to the Portrait Room and speak to the people present." The seneschal, visibly upset, told Elsa.

Elsa raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"How dare they?" Rolf exclaimed.

"The meting seems strained and Lord Halkett is furious. I don't know what is happening there but something is going very wrong." Kai explained.

"If Lord Halkett wants me to speak to the people attending the meeting, I will accommodate him."

Kai's eyes widened in surprise or fear. "It will be a slap in the face," He replied.

Elsa nodded. "Announce me."

Kai sighed. "Yes my Queen." He say before turning and left the room followed by Elsa and the others. The delegates of the minor countries looked in astonishment how they left the room.

They went through the corridors of the castle towards the Portrait room. When they reached it, Kai put his hand over the handle of the door and turned his head to look at Elsa. "Are you sure?" He asked the Queen.

Elsa just nodded and Kai, after taking a deep breath opened the door and entered the room, leaving the door opened behind him.

"Gentlemen, Queen Elsa of Arendelle." Kai said in loud voice.

Elsa slowly entered in the room followed by Anna and Kristoff.

"Princess Anna of Arendelle." Kai exclaimed when she crossed the frame of the door. Rolf and Mark discreetly entered after them and stood at each side of the door.

Everybody in the room stood up and bowed their heads. Howart and Allan Halkett were in the center of the room with Christian Mullon and Ladislas. Friedrich von Schrader was beside a brazier with his nephews Kurt and Otto at his side. In a corner of the room as if he had been left apart from the others, Vladimiras stood with the unknown man at his side.

"It's a great honor." Lord Halkett said concealing his annoyance. "We will finish in a few minutes and I'm sure that your speech will be well received if you make it in front of all the delegates in the Council Chamber."

"We think that the Queen must speak here and now." Kai stated.

"It will be our pleasure." Lord Halkett quickly replied.

Elsa stepped forward. "Sit down please I will be brief." She said although everybody remained standing but Von Schrader who sat again by the brazier and put a foot over a stool.

Elsa looked at the nine men in the room. Everybody looked at her with a polite attention which barely concealed their lack of interest, but much to Elsa's surprise, Friedrich von Schrader who looked at her with great interest and Vladimiras who, for a fleeting instant, seemed to look at her with sympathy. Kurt, behind his uncle, stared at the young Queen with sadness in his eyes.

_Sometimes an unexpected move is better than a more logical but predictable move. _Elsa remembered the phrase that Erick had told her the night they had played a chess game in the Library. _My love, I'm following your advice. Nobody in his right mind would expect something like this._ Elsa thought before taking a deep breath and began to speak. The feeling of emptiness in her chest was harder than ever.


	49. The End of the Beginning

Kai was in the Portrait room beside Anna and Kristoff, as Elsa had asked him. In front of them, the Queen of Arendelle stood facing the delegates from England, France, the Empire, Prussia and Lithuania who looked at her with polite formality. The seneschal could tell that the delegates were more worried by the issues they had been talking about before than by Elsa's speech. The previous meeting had obviously been strained and they still had issues to settle.

"I thank you all the efforts you have made and all the trouble you have taken during this conference. Especially to England and France who had promoted it." Elsa began to talk, when she said the last phrase she looked at Lord Halkett and Mullon who nodded.

_Good start. It is important to keep up appearances. _Kai thought when he heard Elsa's friendly but formal tone of voice. They had prepared the speech together word for word, but the way she said it would be as important as what she said.

"I know that you were doing all this for the sake of my country, but I am, as Queen of Arendelle, the one solely responsible for the Kingdom and my subjects and cannot delegate that responsibility on any other person." The delegates looked at her with suspicion. It didn t seem to be the well-meaning speech, imploring to be treated well that they had expected.

"I have carefully weighed the different options that the different delegates have been so kind to present, and I have decided that none of them is the correct one for Arendelle." Now everybody in the room was paying close attention to Elsa s words.

Kai smiled inwardly. Elsa had maintained the same tone of voice as if she had just said formal courtesies. Showing self-control would be important in the next part of the speech.

"I have decided that the marriage of my sister, Princess Anna, must remain as an internal affair of Arendelle. Several reasons have been made advisable over that course of action, but most importantly is that her marriage to a man from Arendelle will ensure our neutrality and internal stability." Lord Halkett and Mullon looked at her in surprise.

Kai noticed that Elsa's tone of voice had smoothly changed to a commanding tone of voice. _Now it's necessary to make clear that these aren't mere formalities._

"I understand that my decision will make some of the proposals from other countries that I have heard during the conference impossible, but I hope that this won't harm the relations of Arendelle with those countries." Elsa said that words looking Lord Halkett straight in the eye. The English diplomat held her gaze with cold eyes.

_Lord Halkett is the key. If he has any doubt of Elsa's determination, he won't believe what is to come._ Kai snuck a glance at Elsa's expression. She seemed impassible.

"We have worked hard together during the conference to reinforce our relations and ensure our mutual prosperity at different levels. The sale of a good deal of Arendelle's timber has been secured for the years to come. Any setback in the relations among Arendelle and those countries could mean a the complete ruin of those relations which, I'm sure, would be rebuilt in the future but would never be the same since the new situation would shape them in a different form."

_This is the gauntlet under the silk glove, _Kai thought. He studied the faces of the delegates trying to gauge their reactions. Halkett shook his head obviously distraught by what he had heard. Mullon seemed confused, as if he was trying to understand the implications of what Elsa had said. Everybody in the room was listening to Elsa's words intently except Friedrich von Schrader who was stridently coughing.

Otto von Schrader was listening Queen Elsa's words in utter surprise when the strong coughs of his uncle, who was seated at his side, attracted his attention. He recognized the feigned cough that Friedrich von Schrader used to make when he wanted to talk with him. Otto poured him a glass of water and knelt in front of his uncle. Kurt also knelt at their side to hear the old Prussian's instructions.

"Did you hear that?" Friedrich asked in low voice.

"Yes the Queen is pathetically ruining her petty Kingdom. Hopefully the Englishman and the French will be merciful, and will only humiliate her instead of destroying Arendelle."

"Be careful, maybe you are the one who is speaking pathetically."

Otto looked in surprise at Friedrich. "What do you mean?"

"Think about what she had said! What would happen if the great powers don't accept the Queen's position?"

"The British's Royal Navy and the French's Marine Nationale(*) would race to reach Arendelle first and destroy it." Otto replied.

"The treaties are signed by England and France due to the clauses, which Lord Halkett poked so much fun at. So a state of war between Arendelle and those countries would mean that the treaties would be revoked. Just as she planned!"

"But uncle! Once they brought Arendelle to its knees, England and France could impose whatever conditions they wanted." Otto replied.

"But Neither Halkett nor Mullon could impose their conditions! Think about it. They have taken advantage of being the sole representatives of their respective countries in this conference to sign very profitable treaties for Halkett's timber company and the shipyards of Mullon's uncle. If there was a war the treaties would be cancelled, although new ones would be made to control Arendelle's timber. Do you really believe that the other English timber companies and French shipyards, if they have the opportunity to rewrite the treaties, would allow them to keep such advantageous conditions?"

Both nephews gazed in astonishment at their uncle.

Von Schrader went on with his explanation. "The aim of signing the treaties with England and France wasn't to put a check on those countries, instead it will put Halkett and Mullon against the ropes. Think about it! The current treaties distribute Arendelle's production between both powers. They control less than they wanted but enough to be satisfied."

"It's an acceptable pact. But would it be enough to appease both countries? They won't," Kurt began to say in disbelief, but he suddenly stopped talking and his eyes lit up when he understood what was happening, a smile crossing his surprised face.

Friedrich gave a knowing smile at Kurt and turned his head towards Otto. "The ones who have to decide if it is an acceptable pact are Halkett and Mullon since they are the delegates of their countries in the conference. What do you think they will decide, if rejecting this option means that the treaties which would make them rich would become worthless bits of paper? Let alone that they would have to justify in front of the other owners of Scandinavian Timber, Lord Halkett's company, or Mullon's uncle why they decided to spoil such an advantageous contract. Look at them." The old diplomat said nodding towards the English and French delegates.

Mullon gaped at Elsa in sheer astonishment. Lord Halkett, instead, glared at her. "The English is fighting against his pride to accept the situation. The French doesn't have such a problem." The Prussian Count stated.

"But your reasoning is faulty," Otto said.

"Tell me why. Although I can guess what you are going to say." His uncle quickly replied.

"The Queen. The English want Elsa as far away as possible."

"I think I know what she planned, but it looks like she is ready to answer that question." Friedrich replied looking at Elsa.

Lord Halkett could hardly believe the situation. He had made the same deductions as Von Schrader and searched desperately for a way to break the Snow Witch's web. "Queen Elsa. Your marriage with an appropriate husband is of national concern for England. What do you have to say about that?" Howart Halkett asked although he already knew the response.

"I trust the judgement of the diplomats who have gathered in Arendelle. I will marry the man designated by the delegates." The Queen of Arendelle replied in a toneless voice that ran through Kai's hearth like a fine stiletto.

Anna blinked and was about to talk, but Kai, who was at her side, whispered in her ear. "If you say anything, you would spoil her entire plan and her sacrifice would be useless." Anna turned her head to look at the seneschal. She trembled at the thought of her sister alone in the hands of those men and felt that she was about to cry, but she hold back her tears.

After Elsa's final words, everybody stood in silence in the room as if they knew what they would have to say but nobody wanted to be the one who said it. Ladislas, the Imperial delegate, broke the silence. "As far as I understand everything depends on your decision." He looked to Lord Halkett and Mullon. "If you accept the Queen's decision, we could begin to negotiate. Otherwise any other negotiation is useless."

But before they could reply, the Imperial diplomat turned his head and looked fixedly at Elsa. "Needless to say, in the latter case Arendelle's people will suffer grave consequences, and as you said, you will be the one solely responsible. Are you certain of what you have said? You still can take it back."

The English and French delegates gazed at the Queen as if they were looking for a crack in her attitude, but the Queen of Arendelle remained impassive and didn't even reply. She just returned the gaze as if she was waiting.

"There is no reason to force that issue. We will get the same results but for minor details." Finally Mullon said looking at Halkett.

Lord Halkett just nodded very slowly as if he needed to make a great effort.

"Then we have a lot of issues to discuss before we can return with the other delegates." Ladislas said meaningfully looking at Elsa.

Elsa took a deep breath. "As I told you I trust your judgement regarding my future husband. Inform me of your decision." Elsa said before leaving the room.

Once they were out and the doors were closed, Anna took her sister by the arm and dragged her to a small nearby room. She closed the door behind them before exploding. "What the hell are you doing?" She furiously shouted. "How are you going get out of marrying whichever candidate they choose?"

Elsa sighed and sat in a chair before replying. After the tenseness of the speech in front of the delegates she was exhausted. "I'm not going back on my promise. I really will marry the candidate they choose."

"You must be hiding something from me." Anna said shaking her head in disbelief.

"The time to conceal things is over. Both of us will marry in the chapel of Arendelle's castle as soon as possible. You will marry Kristoff, and I will marry whoever they choose. We will do it at the same time to ensure that they don't change their mind."

"Am I supposed to marry with Kristoff at the same time that you are forced to marry one of these odious candidates? Tell me that you are joking!"

Elsa slowly shook her head. "I am being serious."

"Why didn't you explain that horrible plan to me? I could of," Anna began to say but she suddenly stopped talking.

"You already know the why. You would have fought it with all of your might, and it has been difficult enough without your opposition." Elsa replied.

"How dare you?" Anna said, tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Do you believe that the same questions haven't tormented me since the day I thought this up in the pool under the castle?" Elsa replied looking away from Anna's face. "I'm sorry for you and for Erick, but it was the only way to protect you and Kristoff, and to preserve Arendelle's independence."

"Why will Arendelle remain independent? You'll marry the man designed by Halkett and Mullon." Anna asked.

"That is the other part of my plan. I'm going to," Elsa replied.

"I have heard enough of your plans!" Anna shouted as she turned, opened the door, and left the room.

Elsa was too tired to follow her and stayed seated in the small room. Kai entered with Kristoff.

"She reacted as well as we expected." Kai said.

"Yes." Elsa sighed, her head on her hands and her elbows over a little table in front of her chair. She felt a terrible headache and gasped for breath.

"Are you all right?" Kristoff asked looking at the young Queen.

"I'm fine Kristoff, just a bit tired. Please go to my sister; she needs you." Elsa answered.

The mountain man nodded. "I know." He said as he left the room, but when he was about to cross the door, he stopped and turned his head. "Thank you." He said looking at Elsa straight in the eye.

The Queen just nodded and made a faint smile. "Kai, I will rest here until they leave the Portrait room."

Kai nodded. "This is going to be a long night." The seneschal said looking at the fragile figure of the Queen leaning on the table.

* * *

"Concentrate on the game. The main delegates and the Queen entered the room after midnight." Rollo, the Genoese Captain of the Imperial brigantine told Erick. The bald captain stood in the corridor that lead to the Council room leaning against the wall.

Erick, who had twisted to follow a servant who went into the Council Chamber with his eyes, sat up straight and tried to concentrate on the pieces on the checked board in front of him.

"Taking into account that you removed your own name from the candidates list, you seem too nervous. Do you fear you will be forced to marry one of them?" Rollo went on in a teasing tone of voice.

Erick raised his eyes from the chessboard, and his eyes met with Corrado's who was his opponent in the chess game. Corrado had realized that Erick was too nervous and fetched one of Elsa's chess sets to keep Erick busy. The Imperial Captain had joined them later and followed the game with interest.

"If only I could," Erick began to say.

"Concentrate in the game." Corrado added in an admonitory tone of voice.

Erick was about to reply when the doors of the council chamber opened. He quickly stood up, although he could not do anything in front of so many people but look at Elsa, who was the first to cross the room with her seneschal at her side. Anna and Kristoff were behind them.

He was surprised by Anna's expression. The Princess of Arendelle never had been very good concealing her emotions, even in the official occasions, but now it was blatantly obvious that she was livid with rage. Elsa instead was impassive as if she was only in a ceremony established by protocol, although her face was pale as a sheet.

_What has happened? _Erick thought.

Erick's eyes met Elsa's but the young Queen just looked away. At that moment, barely at the limits of the protocol, Anna passed her sister and ran through a door which led to the private section of the castle. Kristoff followed her. Elsa went on walking and Erick followed her with his eyes until she disappeared through the same door than Anna.

"Good to meet you." A voice said behind Erick in German.

Erick slowly turned to face his step brother, the Duke Adrian Simonyi, who was at the head of the Imperial delegation, the second to leave the room after the Arendellians, with Ladislas and Berganza at his side.

The Imperial Duke had a smile of triumph on his square face that upset Erick, but it changed to a grimace of disdain when he recognized Corrado who was still seated at the other side of the chessboard.

"Captain Simonyi." Adrian said. "Your services are no longer required in Arendelle. The day after tomorrow, you must embark on the Imperial brigantine which will return half of the Imperial delegation to Vienna, and join your regiment."

"Captain Simonyi is your brother. He should be at the ceremony." Ladislas said.

"He is just an undesired guest." The Duke replied. "He is no longer necessary here and I don't want to delay his meeting with his regiment." He added with a broad smirk on his face. After saying that, the Duke turned to face Rollo. "Captain, your ship must leave Arendelle in two days time. Come with me. We have a lot of details to arrange for the ceremony." Adrian went away to the front of the Imperial delegation with Rollo at his side leaving, Erick and Ladislas behind.

"What is he talking about?" Erick asked Ladislas referring to the ceremony that Adrian had mentioned.

But Ladislas misinterpret him, and after checking that the Imperial delegation was far enough away, he switched to speak in Hungarian. "He has convinced all the inhabers (**) of the thirteen imperial hussar regiments to reject your admission in their units."

"What?" Erick replied in surprise.

"I don't know how he got enough contacts, but he did it. He has used diplomatic messengers to do the work. That's why I know what he has done. And he is a Feldmarschall (***). You will never be allowed to join an Imperial cavalry regiment."

Erick looked speechless at Ladislas in surprise.

The Imperial diplomat went on. "When you reach your regiment, you will be publicly dismissed. I recommend you to write to your colonel. Maybe he would send you a letter with your expulsion and you could avoid the public humiliation. Maybe you could join an Italian local cavalry squadron."

"Why would you tell me this?" Erick asked looking Ladislas straight in the eye. "We have never been friends; quite the contrary in fact."

Ladislas grimaced at the question. "Because both of us are Imperial hussars and it is of some significance!" The imperial diplomat, clad in his red hussar uniform replied, before he began to turn to join to the Imperial delegation.

"You talked about a ceremony." Erick asked putting his hand on Ladislas' shoulder.

"The wedding. Your brother will send half of the members of the Imperial delegation to Brest. They will wait there for another Imperial ship to return to Vienna. The brigantine will return to Arendelle with enough space for him and his wife in their travels through the whole Europe. He will show off his new wife in all the European courts."

"Who will be his new wife?" Erick asked trying to conceal his anxiety.

"Queen Elsa of Arendelle of course!" The imperial diplomat said smiling. "We made it! This has been a great victory for the Imperial diplomacy." He said before leaving.

NA: Hi everybody,

I don't recommend Elrick as ship name. It sounds too similar to Moorcock's character Elric of Melnibone and the fate of Cymoril (his consort) is not a happy end. :) And you are right ersa sounds terrible.

Sorry by finishing the previous chapter in that point, but I couldn't help it. ;)

Here is the first part of Elsa's schema. I hope you like it! The delegates certainly didn't like it, specially Lord Halkett as you will see in the next chapters.

See you in Arednlle

(*) **Marine Nationale**: French navy.

(**) A **Proprietor**, or **Inhaber**, was a term used in the Habsburg military to denote special honors extended to a noble or aristocrat. The Habsburg army was organized on principles developed for the feudal armies in which regiments were raised by a wealthy noble, called the _Inhaber_ (proprietor) who also acted as honorary colonel. Originally, he raised the regiment, funded its needs, and received a portion of its revenue, which might be plunder or loot. He also shared in its shame or its honors. The Imperial Russian military adopted a similar system. (Excerpt from wikipedia).

(***) **Feldmarschall** austrian equivalent to Field marshal a very senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually it is the highest rank in an army, and when it is, few (if any) persons are appointed to it. (Excerpt from wikipedia).


	50. About Old Friends and Elder Sisters

When Erick went out onto the balcony, he took a deep breath and felt the cold air into his lungs; but the sensation that his head was burning hadn t disappeared. He leaned on the rail and tried to calm himself down. The balcony was dimly illuminated by the moonlight.

"Are you all right?" A voice said in the dark.

Erick turned and found Vladimiras standing in front of the balcony door. Both men gazed at each other in silence, they could see their breath in the cold air of the night. "The night is pretty cold. It's strange for the summer." Vladimiras finally said looking at the moon which was clearly visible in the cold air.

Erick nodded while he looked at him in surprise. "We are used to meeting in cold places, but what are you doing here?" The young hussar finally asked.

"When I left the Council chamber, I saw you talking with Ladislas and followed you because you had a strange look in your eyes. Honestly, I thought you were about to kill somebody."

"It would be useless. There are too many in line." Erick muttered to himself.

"What are you talking about?" Vladimiras asked.

"You were supposed to be the candidate who was to be married to Queen Elsa. What happened?" Erick asked ignoring Vladimiras question.

"This very afternoon, just before the conference, I withdrew my claim for Queen Elsa's hand." The Lithuanian answered.

"Did you decide that she wasn't the appropriate Queen for Lithuania?" Erick asked in surprise.

"Quite the contrary! Although her coronation as Queen of Lithuania had some potential dangers." Vladimiras replied remembering Antanas attraction for the young Queen. "It's funny. History repeats itself. But although I really didn't want to repeat past events, my decision was motivated by news from Lithuania."

"Why do you..." Erick began to ask, but then he remembered their encounter in the corridor and the presence of Aras and his face lit up. ' Your father is dead. That's why Aras left Lithuania and came to Arendelle. He is the Seneschal of Lithuania and he must always be with the Lithuanian King. Am I correct King Vladimiras?"

Vladimiras nodded. "He arrived yesterday evening from Lithuania with the news." Vladimiras said, a hint of sadness laced his voice.

"I'm sorry." Erick replied.

Vladimiras shook his head. "My father and I quarreled since I was young. First we fought to influence my elder brother, the future King of Lithuania, about the correct way to handle the country. I wanted to make changes and my father opposed. He never understood that I usually managed to convince my brother. After my brother died things got worse."

"Because you began to make changes in your country?" Erick asked.

Vladimiras shook his head. "Not only that. Grave things happened between my brother and me during the war in the Plains. My father had good reasons to hate me due to my brother's death."

"As far as I know, your brother put himself and his escort in a dangerous situation and Hadik, the colonel of my regiment, took advantage of it."

"That's right." Vladimiras replied. "But I was my brother's right hand in military issues. He wasn't a gifted military leader. Usually he trusted my advice, but that day he ignored me."

"That wasn't your fault."

"He also had good reasons to distrust me." Vladimiras said. The Lithuanian stared into space as if he was seeing people and events long time forgotten. He shook his head. "All this is water under the bridge. My brother and my father are dead and nothing could change that, nor what happened while they were alive."

"And you decided to rescind your claim." Erick said guessing that Vladimiras didn't want to talk about that anymore.

Vladimiras nodded. "With my father's dead, the possibility of an open confrontation of the conservative faction, which he would have led, going against my reforms and my position as heir disappear and I can decide about my marriage."

"This decision will get you into trouble. You re the one who told me to be sensible a few days ago!"

Vladimiras smiled at the joke. " I would have agreed to marry against my will to avoid a civil war in Lithuania, but not to please Lord Halkett."

"What has Lord Halkett's reaction been?"

"As you can guess not very friendly. The treaty between Lithuania and England is very important and both countries are very interested, so it will be signed anyway but it won't be easy. I explained to him that I have my own plans for the future of Lithuania and they aren't compatible with a foreign marriage. Although I do recognize after seeing the Queen's maneuvers during the conference, I'm sure that she would have been an outstanding Queen for Lithuania."

"Why did you say that her plan failed?"

"Her plan didn't fail. She accepted voluntarily to be married to any candidate in exchange for allowing her younger sister to marry with whoever she wants."

Vladimiras explained in detail Elsa's maneuvers to Erick. It took some time, but when the Lithuanian finished his explanation, the hussar couldn't help humorlessly laughing. He now understood Elsa's words on the balcony.

"I should have guessed it. When she plays chess, Elsa always risks the Queen. And I suppose that Ladislas, who is a very skilled diplomat, took advantage of the fact, that after your withdrawal, the Englishman didn't have any valid candidate for Queen Elsa's hand." Erick said.

"Since there was only one bride available, he pressed hard for obtaining Elsa's hand. I think Mullon probably wasn't very pleased with that. It s one thing to give the Empire a marriage to a Princess; it is something quite different to give them the Queen and a foothold in the Baltic." Vladimiras replied.

"Then why didn't the French impose another candidate? France has more power and influence in the Northern Sea than the Empire." Erick asked.

"Because Mullon has created an alliance of minor powers which gave France a great amount of influence in the conference. But Ladislas helped him build it and I think Mullon feared that a significant part of that alliance would remain loyal to the Empire." Vladimiras answered.

"If the alliance had been broken, the English could have imposed a worse option for France than my brother." Erick concluded.

"Right. The best option for Mullon would have been another minor candidate of the alliance, but Ladislas quickly blocked that option from the beginning when he make clear that your brother was the only valid option for the Empire." Vladimiras went on.

"And the English without a candidate with support enough from the minor countries, couldn't stand against the combined influence of France, the Empire and their allies." Erick added.

Vladimiras nodded. "He tried to postpone the decision, so he could obtain a candidate acceptable for the other countries, but everybody is tired of this issue and wants to close it as soon as possible."

"I see. So Elsa of Arendelle will marry Duke Adrian Simonyi." Erick replied with grave face.

"Yes. The Queen has decreed that both sisters will marry at the same time in Arendelle's castle chapel in a week. It didn't please your step brother. He wanted to marry in Vienna in front of the Emperor, but Ladislas didn't wanted to argue with her over a minor issue like that. I think he was quite impressed by her. In fact everybody in the room was impressed."

Erick took a deep breath and Vladimiras noticed Erick's sadness. The Lithuanian was surprised, but he supposed that it was motivated by the fact that Erick's hated step brother had gotten such a victory. "Why are you so worried? You will return to your beloved Plains. You have to wait just a week."

"I'm not so sure about that. My brother managed to expel me from my regiment and any other Imperial cavalry regiment." Erick replied trying to change the topic of the conversation. He didn't wanted to talk about Elsa.

"He has taken revenge for your refusal to marry Princess Anna. What are you going to do?" Vladimiras asked looking with interest at Erick.

"I'm not sure. I could join a local cavalry squad in Italy." Erick said repeating Ladislas comment. He was so devastated by Elsa's final fate that he hadn t given one thought about his own situation.

"And spent the rest of your life chasing highwaymen and smugglers. Once you told me that you would lead great armies. Where would you found those armies in Italy?"

"Where I'm supposed to find a leaderless great army?" Erick joked.

"In Lithuania." Vladimiras quickly replied. "Come with me and I will give you the command of a hussar regiment. You will be a Lithuanian colonel."

"Lithuania doesn't have hussars." Erick replied in surprise.

"I want to modernize the army and I need good cavalry. I will raise a hussar regiment with the best riders of my Kingdom and you will teach them to fight like hussars."

"I never commanded a regiment, only a company." Erick warily objected.

"Would you know what to do with it in battle?" The Lithuanian asked.

"Of course I do!" Erick exclaimed.

"Then don't worry by the administrative details of a regiment. I will assign to your regiment officers with experience in those affairs."

"Half the Lithuanian nobility hates me. Would they serve under my orders?" Erick asked obviously interested.

"They will when they know that from your officers I will pick the future colonels of my cavalry regiments."

"What if Lithuania and the Empire go to war?"

"It wouldn't happen during my lifetime. But I promise you that, in that case, I wouldn't force you to fight against your people. I would even allow you to return to the Empire and join the Imperial army."

Erick looked at Vladimiras in astonishment. "You seem pretty interested in my services." The hussar said.

"I did see, though I think the correct word would be suffered, you commanding two companies at the same time during the retreat of my army from the Plains. I want my cavalry to fight like your soldiers."

Erick weighed for a long time Vladimiras' words. "I would be far away." He finally said remembering Elsa's words. _This is a good bye kiss. We'll never see each other again._

"Don't worry about that. I will establish an embassy in Vienna. My father never accepted embassies, but I will create one in each major power's capital. You could travel to Vienna every now and then when we send any special diplomatic mission. In fact I would like it; the military attaché(*) in Vienna would thank your help to understand the Imperial army."

Erick's face lit up and smiled when he heard that words. "I have another proposal for you." He said.

"It's the first time I see you smiling since we began this conversation. I don't know what you are going to say, but I'm sure that your damned brother wouldn't be pleased." Vladimiras laughed.

"You can be certain of that." Erick replied.

* * *

"Would you open the door?" Elsa asked in loud voice. She was seated in front of her sister's room with her back leaning against the door. She was so tired that she haven't been able to stand in front of the door. Her head ached and she needed to rest, but she had to talk with her sister before. _Well now it's my turn to wait in front of a closed door. I could build a snowman. _She thought with an ironic smile on her face.

At that moment, the door opened and Kristoff got out. "Anna will talk with you. I'll go to my room to leave you two alone." He said while he helped the young Queen to stand up. "Are you all right?" He asked when Elsa winced in pain.

"Yes." The young Queen replied putting a hand on her side. "It's just the wound."

"After a day like this you should rest. Do I have to call Gudvard?" He asked concerned.

"No, thank you Kristoff." Elsa said while she entered into the room. The mountain man closed the door behind her.

Anna was in her bed, she hadn't removed her dress and looked rather strange with her bell-shaped skirt over the sheets.

"Anna I know that you are hurt, but believe me I did what I had to for your own good and..." Elsa began to say.

"Stop making excuses. You re only making it worse." Anna said looking at her sister. "You wanted to explain the rest of your plan. Well, I'm listening."

Elsa nodded surprised by Anna's cold tone of voice. "Yes. As I told you we will marry in few days in the castle chapel. After that I will leave Arendelle with my husband and you will remain here with Kristoff. Both of you will protect Arendelle from any external interference." The Queen of Arendelle said while she sat on the bed by her sister.

"How am I supposed to do that? I'm a Princess of Arendelle, but he will be the King."

"But he will be the King consort and he will be far away. According to Arendelle's laws the King consort only has the powers conferred by his wife. "

"Will they accept that? Duke Adrian rules a Duchy which is far greater than Arendelle and the power of the Empire is behind him. Will they respect Arendelle's laws?"

"France and England will enforce it. They won't like an Imperial foothold in the Northern Sea. The less power the Empire get in Arendelle the happier they will be. We..." A stab of pain in her head made Elsa wince. The young Queen stopped talking and hold her head between her hands.

"Are you all right?" Anna asked.

"Yes. Just a bit tired." Elsa answered. Anna gently held Elsa's shoulders and laid her down on the bed. She started to softly massaged Elsa's temples.

"Are you saying that the same people who have forced you to marry will protect us against Imperial interference?" Anna incredulously said. Her tone of voice was still cold.

"Welcome to diplomacy." Elsa replied with a sad smile on her face while she closed her eyes and relaxed due to Anna's soft touch. "Now we start another chess game. The Empire will try to control Arendelle but they can't just overrun us because that would give England or France an excuse to meddle. If I don't let my husband control Arendelle he will try to create an Imperial faction inside Arendelle. Our unruly barons would be the obvious option, but with your new title you can check them."

"My new what?"

With her head on the pillow, Elsa opened her eyes and looked up at her sister with a mischievous gaze. "Do you remember the Summary of Arendelle's laws you found in my desk. It was just one of many books I read. You thought that I was trying to deprive you of your title of Princess; on the contrary, I was trying to find how to give you more power."

Anna looked in astonishment at her sister. She tried to talk but Elsa interrupted her. "I will designate you as regent in my absence. In fact you will be a crowned one."

"A crowned what?"

"A crowned regent. Kai suggested the title of crowned Princess. He thought that it would be more impressive. It originates from one of our ancestors who put the crown on the head of his brother to check the influence of a too powerful baron while he was out in a military expedition."

"But..."

"It will allow you to rule Arendelle in my absence. The barons won't be able to defy your power, because while I'm out of Arendelle you will have more power than me. In fact, you could even ignore a written order signed by me."

"Are you sure of that?"

Elsa nodded. "I have searched every bit of Arendelle s laws regarding the transfer of power in the crown, and with Kai's invaluable help, I have made a decree which will resist any Imperial attempt to nullify it. That law was decreed by another ancestor who feared to be taken prisoner by the Southern Isles Kings during a war, and it states that the regent would have more power in the Kingdom that the King when he is out of the Kingdom. He was a wise man since he was captured by the Westergard house and died as a prisoner."

Anna looked at her elder sister in astonishment. "But those laws are very old."

"From the times when Arendelle was a warrior nation and our flag wore a helmet with a crocus. But no one repealed them so they are still fully valid, and when the time comes, you or your sons will inherit Arendelle's crown. And our Kingdom will separate from the Empire."

"The heirs to the crown of Arendelle will be your sons." Anna replied. "As Kings of Arendelle and Imperial Dukes, they could integrate Arendelle into the Empire."

Elsa shook her head. "I will never conceive a son with Adrian. I hope that he enjoys being King of Arendelle because he won't have descendants in exchange for it. I will use my powers to freeze whatever" Elsa hesitated about the word to use. "Seed he could left inside me."

Anna gulped. Elsa's eyes had gleamed with cold fury when she had talked. The Duke wasn't going to get a docile or submissive wife.

"We won't have sons, and after my death, you or your sons will inherit the Kingdom. Then Arendelle will be safe."

_You will fade in your husband's miserable and remote land. _The idea of her sister dying alone far away from Arendelle brought to Anna's mind Madam Gonzaga's words when they had gone to see Elias off in the docks. Anna shivered and could feel tears in her eyes.

"Why should you be the one who leaves Arendelle? Why will I marry Kristoff and you that Imperial bastard?" She said holding her tears back.

"Because I'm the root of all this mess. My powers are the problem and if I disappear, the problem will be solved."

"You aren't any problem and this is unfair." Anna tried to seem stern but her voice trembled.

"Diplomacy isn't supposed to be fair." Elsa replied. "I know you don't like this outcome, but it is the only solution. I'm sorry."

"And what about Erick?" Anna quickly asked.

"I don't understand." Elsa replied stiffening.

"Before your speech in the Portraits room you said that you were sorry for me, but also for Erick. I want to know the reason."

"I meant Kristoff. I had been talking with Erick and said the wrong name because I was nervous." Elsa replied.

"Then I can talk with Erick and ask him what happened in the eagle's nest." Anna said with feigned innocence. The way Elsa had talked about Erick and Erick's expression before the conference had raised an incredible suspicion in Anna's mind.

Elsa hesitated for a moment, but finally she shrugged and answered the question. "We kissed on the balcony."

Anna gaped speechless at her sister. "You and Erick... I meant..." Anna shook her head in surprise. "Did he steal a kiss?"

Elsa shook her head. "I was quite eager. I tried to explain it to him. I believed that he would realize that it is better to stay away from me."

"And what did he say?"

"Basically, that being reasonable is not part of being in love." Elsa replied.

Anna couldn't help laughing. "But that is wonderful!" Anna said with a broad smile on her face. Her cold demeanor had evaporated like dew under the midday sun.

"It isn't wonderful! It's terrible!" Elsa replied.

"Don't you love him?" Anna asked frowning.

"Of course I do!" Elsa replied surprised of her own vehemence. Once she had told Anna the truth, she just couldn't stop talking. "He is so impetuous. When we talk, he doesn't care if I'm the Queen of Arendelle, the Snow Queen or a peasant. Everything seems possible and you only have to be willing to pay the price." Elsa said with a faint but happy smile on her face.

"Then why is this so terrible?" Anna asked.

"Because it's impossible. I'm going to marry his brother." Elsa happy expression disappeared from her face.

"Elsa that wedding is a hollow sham."

"Of course it is! But what do you think my husband would do if he discovered us? Being his wife and Queen of Arendelle, I will be protected, but Erick would suffer the consequences. Adrian already hates him. He would kill him!"

"Maybe he ll never find out."

"Can I risk the life of the man I love in such way? And even if we weren't discovered, what kind of life I could offer him? Always hiding always at risk." Elsa shook her head. "I'm not going to do that."

"Have you asked him what he thinks about this?"

"No and I won't ask him because I will never see him again in private."

"Then why did you kiss him?"

"I don't want to talk about that." The Queen replied.

"Elsa I think you are taking this too far."

"I'm not going to risk or ruin his life just to keep him at my side. He will be safer if he stays away from me."

"Then I suppose that you don't have a great opinion about me."

"Why?" Elsa replied in surprise.

"You are describing what I did with Kristoff."

Elsa tried to raise, but she was so tired that she had to remain still on the bed. "But you are going to marry him." She finally said.

"I wasn't sure of that when we made our vows in the forest. I risked his life just to keep him close to me. But I don't regret it."

"Anna" Elsa said with weary voice fighting against her closing eyes. "I'm not judging anybody. I did what I thought was right, just like you."

"I could talk with Erick. maybe."

"I forbid you to talk with him." Elsa said finally closing her eyes.

"Elsa..." Anna began to say, but her Elder sister, exhausted, had fallen asleep.

"Oh Elsa what have you done?" Anna asked to her sleeping sister shaking her head. This isn't going to end in this way. The Princess of Arendelle said while she tenderly brushed a lock of hair off her sister's forehead.

* * *

NA: Hi everybody,

You were very close Valathe, but Elsa couldn't abdicate after the weeding. From the point of view of the marriage as a politic instrument they won't see it as fair play :).

See you in Arendelle

(*) Military attaché: A military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission (an attaché). This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy. One of his duties was to learn as much as possible of the army of the country in which he is appointed.


	51. Coronation Day

The space in front of the chapel was full of people. Anna took a deep breath as she went outside the building. The delicate golden crown on her head was as heavy as millstone. Symbols are important; with it on your head you will be, but for the name, the Queen of Arendelle. Elsa had said that when they had stood in front of the delegates and Arendelle's nobility, who were crammed on the benches of the chapel, after Bishop Bodo had placed the crown on Anna's head .

The ceremony had been quite similar to Elsa's coronation a year ago. Elsa had done it on purpose and had even insisted on returning to the castle by a side door, so Anna and Kristoff would go alone on the walk to the castle through the people of Arendelle, as if she had been crowned Queen instead of just a regent.

The Princess turned her head and looked at Kristoff. The mountain man, clad in his uncomfortable official uniform, tried to reassure her with a confident smile but the situation was too strange for him and he was as uneasy as Anna. His only relief was that, being that Anna was only a regent, there was no crown for him.

Anna sighed and tried to look majestic, but that was Elsa's specialty and she couldn't help nervously smiling to the crowd.

"Long live brave Princess Anna!" A voice shouted and immediately everybody shouted out the phrase.

Anna and Kristoff, holding each others hand, slowly crossed the crowd among the cheers and hurrahs of the people. It's better than the cold stares of the foreign delegates when we went to the church. Anna thought.

When they arrived at the castle, Elsa, who was already inside, approached Anna. "I hope you enjoyed the walk." She said. "Because we have a meeting with Ladislas, the Imperial delegate, and Duke Adrian Simonyi. Do you remember?" She asked Anna.

"Of course I do. After the meeting, will we go to the hunting pavilion as we discussed before?" Anna asked.

"Anna, Im leaving Arendelle in a few days and we have a lot of work to do." Elsa replied.

"And I want to be with my sister before she leaves. Besides you have to explain a lot of things. Why don't you explain them in the pavilion?"

Elsa hesitated. Anna had proposed to leave Arendelle after the meeting with the Imperials and spend the night together in their parent's hunting pavilion. "Why don't you go with Kristoff? I'm sure that you would be happy together."

"Kristoff will be also with us and I want to be with my sister, not with the Queen of Arendelle." Anna replied looking at her sister straight in the eye.

Elsa smiled and nodded. "All right Anna; the three of us will spent the night in the hunting pavilion. I have to admit that I like the idea. But we will study the account books during the evening. Do you agree?"

"Yes." Anna replied with a broad smile on her face. "Kristoff can go before us to prepare the place." Anna turned to face the mountain man. "Kristoff could you go to the pavilion and prepare everything?"

"Of course I will." He said. For an instant their eyes met meaningfully before Kristoff went towards his room to change out of his uncomfortable uniform.

Anna turned towards her sister. "I'm ready to face the," Anna stopped talking when she realized that Elsa was looking through a window at a group of Imperials in the middle of the courtyard. Some of them wore colorful hussar uniforms. "We have a meeting with the Imperials. Do you remember?" Anna teased.

Elsa stopped daydreaming, but for a second Anna could see sadness in her eyes. "Yes. You are right." The young Queen replied regaining her composure and walking towards the council room.

* * *

The Imperial delegate and Duke Simonyi were already waiting in the council room with Kai when both sisters arrived. Anna noticed that nobody had been talking. They had just remained silent in the room. It is no time for courtesies, she thought while both sisters sat at the table.

"Well. Congratulations for the new regent of Arendelle." Ladislas said looking to Anna. "I think that it is a great idea. Arendelle's people will welcome a member of Arendelle's house at the head of the Kingdom."

"Thank you." Anna replied warily.

She is not looking daggers at him. The crown on her head is affecting her positively, Elsa thought. "As you understand, Arendelle's government needed a restructuring to keep going after my departure." The Queen said.

"And the Empire will be pleased to help you." Ladislas said remembering the long and angry discussion he had held with Adrian the night before when they had received the invitation to Anna's proclamation as regent. Ladislas had tried to make him understand that they weren't in Hungary where his word was law. He only hoped that the Duke would control himself for the entire meeting. "Duke Adrian has very able administrators that could help Princess Anna to run the Kingdom."

"One of my bookkeepers has come to Arendelle with me. He has to read Arendelle's account books of the last years as soon as possible. Although he will remain in Arendelle as my personal delegate, he has to grasp the operation of Arendelle's commerce before we leave because I want to decide the next year taxes before leaving." The Duke said much to Ladislas annoyance.

"If you want to assign anybody to be your representative in Arendelle, we will be pleased to receive him. But we don't need Imperial administrators. Arendelle had always managed its own affairs and this is not going to change." Elsa quickly replied.

Adrian was about to reply, but Ladislas was quicker. "You have misunderstood us. They aren't Imperial administrators. They are trusted men of the Duke, your future husband. His help doesn't imply any Imperial interference."

"You are the one who has misunderstood me. We don't need foreigner administrators." Elsa replied.

"Queen Elsa. Duke Adrian will be your husband in a few days. It's natural that he wants to help you and your sister in Arendelle's administration. The Empires laws..." Ladislas began to say.

"I don't know the laws of the Empire in detail, since theyre complex and differ depending on the territory. But Arendelle laws apply here, and," Elsa interrupted the Imperial.

"Don't you think that you are talking of things that are beyond your capabilities? Ladislas is an experienced diplomat and his knowledge of law is surely better than yours." Duke Adrian slowly said interrupting her.

Anna gazed at the Duke. The way he was talking suggested that he was making a great effort to be polite. If those words are the result of his best effort to be courteous, my sister has a problem. Anna thought.

Elsa, without blinking an eye, began a long and detailed explanation of her legal orders and the previous Arendelle laws which gave support to them. When she finished Ladislas leaned back on his chair and looked fixedly at the young Queen.

He had bitterly regretted Adrian's last comment. After Elsa's speech in the Portrait room, he was sure that the Queen wasn't a woman who could be taken lightly. But, after Elsa's explanation of her legal orders, he asked how Mullon had been blind enough to describe her as a foolish girl. The Hungarian had asked some questions during Elsa's explanations, just to check if she had been instructed by her seneschal about what to say but, after her responses, he was sure that Elsa was an expert in law.

Ladislas reflections were interrupted by Adrian. "All this is just words on a paper. Do you really believe that you could stop the Empire with a sheet of paper?"

Ladislas inwardly cursed the Duke. He had thought the same, but he already knew how the Queen would respond and he didn't wanted to reach that level of honesty in the first conversation.

"I'm sure that the English would be quite interested if they receive a request for help from Arendelle. The mere idea of an Imperial foothold in the Northern Sea is anathema to them and they would be willing to ensure that such bit of paper is upheld." Elsa replied as calm as if she was just teaching a basic lesson to a little boy."

"This doesn't make sense. I'm your future husband but you are talking as if you really believe that our respective territories can remain separated."

"Youve caught onto the idea." Elsa replied.

"I think that we should meet again in a few days." Ladislas said before Adrian could reply. "We need time to consider what you have told us." And lick our wounds. He added inwardly.

"Consider!" The Duke shouted. "She is trying to deprive me of what is legally mine and you want to consider it?" He said to Ladislas before turning to face Elsa. He leaned on the table with both hands, and looked fixedly at the young Queen. "You are my wife and you have to learn some lessons about how to treat your husband." Adrian blurted out.

"You still have to wait a few days for the wedding ceremony. Until then, I'm not your wife yet." Elsa calmly replied.

Adrian's upper lip curled in disdain. "Just a few days and after its consummation on the wedding night there won't be any going back."

Elsa ignored Adrian's reply and turned to face Ladislas. "As you have said, we will talk again in a few days." Elsa said as she stood up and left the room followed by her sister who glared at her future brother in law.

"Are you going to accept that?" Adrian asked to Ladislas when both sister had left the room.

"She is very smart. She doesn't really want an English intervention. It would mean the ruin of Arendelle." Ladislas replied.

"Then why didn't you call her bluff?" The Duke asked.

"Because she is bold enough to prefer a British intervention than relinquish the control of Arendelle. We have to get a compromise. Arendelle will retain its independence but you could obtain some prerogatives. It will be a fascinating chess game. So far she has had the advantage that nobody took her seriously, but now she will discover that being a diplomat is more complex than just knowing laws." Ladislas replied with a smile on her face.

"A chess game. Some prerogatives? I am not used to talking in such terms, and anyway that means time and I cannot wait. I need the control of Arendelle's commerce now!" Adrian exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Ladislas asked surprised by the unexpected demand.

"Nothing." Adrian replied obviously embarrassed. "I just meant that we cannot accept that." He answered as he left the room without further comments.

He seemed desperate. Ladislas thought. The Imperial delegate was tired. The Queen of Arendelle was a far more skilled adversary than expected and now the Duke seemed to be playing some kind of intrigue. The Empire's prestige is preserved with the Duke's marriage. I'm going to get an acceptable pact with the Queen and forget the entire issue.

* * *

The royal hunting pavilion was a group of little wooden houses in a terrace near the peak of a mountain, which overlooked the entire fjord. They were in the flat little area between the border of the cliff and the rock face. The main house was near the border and had breathtaking views of the fjord. It was a favorite place of Elsa and Anna's parents when they wanted to be alone.

Two more houses completed the group. One was for guests and another for servants. They were used when their parents brought an official visit to that place. The only way to reach the pavilion was through the group of buildings which had been used a few days before as the starting point for the bear hunt

Elsa and Anna reached it when the sun was touching the peaks of the western mountains.

"We are so late!" Anna said looking at the fading light of the dusk. "Was that added meeting with Kai and Rolf really necessary?"

"Of course it was!" Elsa replied. "I warned you that we have a lot of work."

"We have to hurry up! We have to reach the pavilion before sunset" Anna said urging the horse which pulled the sleigh to go faster.

"Anna this isn't a good idea. I have a lot of work to do and you and Kristoff would have been far better alone. The hunting pavilion is a lovely place and it's a very good idea that you use it."

"Don't worry about that. Due to your efforts, we will have plenty of time to come here on our own." Anna replied.

Elsa didn't replied. She was looking at the buildings they had left behind engrossed in her thoughts. After a few minutes, Anna saw Kristoff standing by a great fir near the point of the path from which the slope was so steep that they would have to leave the sleigh. He was waving at them.

Anna stopped the sledge near the fir and, after getting off the sleigh, embraced and kissed Kristoff.

"Is everything ready?" Anna asked when they stopped kissing, although she kept her arms around Kristoff's neck.

"Yes." Kristoff replied a bit surprised but pleased by Anna's effusiveness. She used to be more discreet when they weren't alone.

"Great!" Anna said.

"I'll wait for you in the pavilion." Elsa said obviously embarrassed.

Anna turned her head to face her sister without releasing Kristoff. "Yes. Go to the main house. The fire is lit and if you go quickly you will enjoy the view of the setting sun over the fjord."

Elsa nodded and started to climb towards the three wooden houses. I should be in Arendelle. They would be far better alone. She thought looking at the three houses. She could see smoke from the chimneys of the main house and the guests. Kristoff has taken it into account and we will sleep in different places.

The Queen of Arendelle hurried up. The sun would disappear in a few minutes and she wanted to see the fjord before that. When they had gone through the group of buildings, the vision of the place had brought back a lot of memories, Erick crossing a picket of Arendelle's dragoons to warn her, and now she felt the sudden desire to check that the Imperial brigantine was still in the fjord. She had the irrational fear that they had left Arendelle earlier than expected.

You are a fool little girl. Elsa thought when she reached houses. He will depart tomorrow early in the morning and you will never see him again.

At that moment Elsa turned the corner of the main house and reached at a little flat space in front of it. The space had a triangular shape. Two of its sides were the front facades of the main and guest houses. The other side was the border of the cliff and had a low stonewall which provided some protection for the people who was afraid of heights.

Elsa suddenly stopped. Beside the stonewall, with a foot over it and looking at the fjord, there was a figure clad in a black hussar uniform.

NA: Hi everybody.

Regarding shadowfax comment, Maybe Elsa would figure something out, but, as you will see in the chapters to come, the other diplomats, specially Lord Halkett are making new plans and they won't be kind. :)

Well the end of this chapter and thenone to come are an important milestone of the romantic story. I hope you like it.

See you in Arendelle.


	52. The Swan and the Raven

She gasped in surprise at the sight of the black figure. The man heard her and quickly turned. "Elsa! I wanted to talk with you, but Kai told me that it was impossible." Erick exclaimed also surprised.

Kai had told her that he had wanted to speak with her, but she had said that she didn't want to talk with Captain Simonyi. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I was waiting for Anna. Kristoff told me that she wanted to" Erick suddenly stopped talking and smiled. "Bless her!"

Elsa started to turn. "I have to go."

"Wait! I have to warn you. You have a traitor among your people."

Elsa turned and looked again at Erick. "What do you mean?"

Erick slowly approached to Elsa while talking. "Before the explosion, the English already knew that Arendelle was unloading food by night in the new harbor."

Elsa looked at Erick with a strange gleam in her eyes, not of surprise but of tenderness.

"I overheard a conversation between Ladislas and one of his secretaries. Somebody had informed the English and now, after the explosion, the rumor has spread. Too many people are involved; the sailors, the soldiers who watch and unload, the men who handled the mules. One of them has informed Lord Halkett."

"You also seem pretty well informed about the activities in the new harbor." Elsa said raising her eyebrows.

"Yes. I snuck into the new harbor by night and saw what was happening there, but I swear that I haven't spoken about it with anybody."

Elsa smiled. "Even if I didn't know who had passed on the information, I wouldn't doubt you."

"Do you know who passed on the information?" Erick asked.

"I did. Well Kai gave the information to the poor Swedish merchantman who died in the explosion. We already suspected that he was an English spy."

"You passed the information!" Erick exclaimed in astonishment. "Why?"

"Because I wanted to make Lord Halkett doubt. In the beginning of the conference, he thought that we didn't have food. So it would have been very easy to make a blockade and bring Arendelle to its knees. In that situation he didn't had any reason to give up and accept my proposal."

"But if he suspected Arendelle was well provided with food, he would be more reluctant to establish a blockade since it would have been more difficult and costly." Erick added.

"And he was more willing to accept the compromise I enforced yesterday." A shadow crossed Elsa's eyes. "But I didn't think that somebody could die or be hurt."

Erick gaped at her. "You played with them like kids! You frightened them to make them go in the direction you wanted as if they were just sheep!"

"Yes. I did it and I 'm not proud of it. I have deceived everybody; the delegates, my sister and you. Believe me Erick I'm sorry for giving you false hopes with my plan, but, as you should already know, even if it works I will marry the candidate chosen by the delegates."

Erick shook his head. "That doesn't change anything. I don't need their permission or the permission of a priest to love you."

Elsa had suspected that he would react in that way. She knew that she should have left, but her feet wouldn't move as if they were glued to the ground and she could feel her heart beating in her chest. "Erick, I will live in your brother's house and you will return to your unit in the Plains. Maybe we will meet in the future, but all this will be just a beautiful memory."

"No. I won't return to the Plains because my brother has expelled me from the Imperial army."

"What?" Elsa exclaimed. "I will make an official complaint. You have helped Arendelle. I'm not going to allow it."

"Don't worry. I don't care and I have a better idea."

"What idea?" Elsa warily asked.

"I have talked with King Vladimiras. Being the friend of a King has some advantages." Erick approached Elsa. They were very close, almost touching, but the Queen didn't move. "You will live in Vienna because Adrian spends the most of the year in his Palace in that city, and I will join the Lithuanian embassy in Vienna as assistant of the military attaché."

Elsa's eyes widened. "Erick! Everybody will consider you a traitor."

"I don't care about that. I'm not going to give any secrets to Lithuania. I will just aid the military attaché to understand the Imperial army."

"But it is a post of great prestige. Everybody will believe that you have passed secrets to obtain it!"

Erick shrugged "But we will know that it won't be truth."

"Erick be sensible. I'm going to be married in a few days to your step brother. He is one of the most powerful men in Europe and has the support of the delegates of the most powerful nations of Europe. We... our." Elsa hesitated before going on. "Whatever thing we could be is impossible. It doesn't make sense."

"The fact that you have to marry Adrian doesn't make sense." Erick said raising his hand as if he was going to touch Elsa's face.

Elsa stepped back and realized that the ground was covered with frost. "Stay away from me!" Elsa ran into into the wall of the main house. The frost instantly covered the wall around the point touched by her. Elsa's eyes widened in fear. "Erick, I'm dangerous."

But Erick didn't moved. "I don't fear the delegates nor Adrian and I'm not going to fear you."

Elsa felt a sudden burst of anger. "Erick please stop! Since the beginning of the conference they have telling me what I have to do. And now you also want to tell me what I have to do." The Queen said feeling that she was being unfair.

Erick was taken aback the bitterness in Elsa's words, but he quickly replied looking her straight in the eye. "Elsa, tell me that you don't love me and I will disappear of your life. You will never hear from me ever again."

At that moment the final words said by Erick's brother during the meeting crossed Elsa's mind. _After its consummation on the wedding night there won't be any going back._ Until that moment Elsa had managed to think about her wedding as an affair of state. But after the meeting with her future husband, the idea of her wedding night had become very personal. She felt a sudden urge to kiss Erick and her own anger was choking her.

"Elsa, are you all right?" Erick asked.

Suddenly, Elsa held Erick's head between her hands as if he was a floating bit of wood in the middle of the sea. "You stupid Imperial! Do you believe that I would still be here if I didn't love you?" She said before kissing him. Elsa tried to take off Erik's pelisse(*) while she was kissing him, but she didn't know how the hussars jacket was fastened .

"How do you unfasten that silly jacket of yours?" Elsa asked panting with her hands still trying to unfasten the pelisse.

"I will do it." Erick replied.

Elsa started to undo the buttons of Erik's shirt. As she opened the shirt, she kissed his chest.

Erik took off the jacket and threw it away and slid his hands along Elsa's back until he touched her hips. "And how do you undo this?" Finally Erick asked while kissing Elsa's neck.

"I made it of one piece and using my powers to get rid of it is painful. Tear it!" Elsa replied while taking out Erik's shirt.

"Queen's orders" Erik said as he ripped Elsa's dress, little bits of ice popped off from the broken dress. Elsa couldn't help laughing at Erik's words.

* * *

"We have seen enough." Anna said as she pushed Kristoff behind the guests house. They have been hiding behind the corner of the house peeking the discussion between Erick and Elsa.

"But did you see that? He's ripping her dress!" Kristoff said twisting his neck trying to watch the couple.

"She didn't seemed worried by that." Anna said with an expression of amused surprise on her face. She hadn't expected such reaction from her sister. "Let's go to the guest house. I think they will prefer to be alone in the main house."

* * *

The dim light of the dawn entered the hunting pavilion through the shutters of the windows. The Queen of Arendelle had awoken a long time before, but she was still naked on the bed lying on her side. Although she was looking at the opposite direction, Elsa could feel Erick's body, who was also on the bed, behind her. She curled up and enjoyed the warm sensation. Elsa thought that she would remember that moment the rest of her life and was trying to retain the slightest detail.

_How many times will I curl up in my bed trying to relive_ _this moment in Vienna with my husband at my side?_ She thought. At that moment she felt a hand gently sliding over her naked hip.

"Are you already awake?" She asked.

"No I'm still dreaming of the gentle swell of your hips." He replied slowly moving his hand along Elsa's side. "I closed my eyes so I can't see the sun and I tried to imagine that the birds I heard were nightingales, a night bird, but they are dammed larks saluting the sun."

"We can't deceive ourselves anymore." Elsa said.

"Yes, I fear that, if we decided to remain here forever, the sound of the English cannons would disturb our peace."

"You have to go to your ship. It will depart soon."

"Yes." He said slowly raising from the bed, as if he didn't wanted, and starting to get dressed. Elsa looked fixedly at his slim body while he put on his black uniform. There was a great sadness in her eyes. "I think my pelisse is somewhere in the middle of the bushes. I haven't time to search it, but if you find it, you could give it to me in Vienna." Erick laughed trying to reassure her.

"Erick, we won't meet in Vienna."

Erick, who was putting his right boot on, raised his head in surprise. "Are you joking?"

"I haven't changed my mind." Elsa took a deep breath, sat on the bed and turned to see Erick.

"Elsa, you are driving me crazy. One day you seem to love me and the next you reject me. I thought that tonight we fixed that. Does what happened last night mean nothing to you?" Erick asked.

"I love you, but last night was a mistake."

"This is madness. If you love me, why can't we meet in Vienna?"

Elsa was about to tell him the truth, but she hesitated. _If I told him that I fear for his life, I would never convince him to stay away from me. _"I'm not a peasant. I'm a Queen and I have certain duties." She told Erick not sure about what she would say.

"In the ice Palace, you said that my intentions were inappropriate and dangerous. Why are they inappropriate?"

_I have to hit him hard to ensure that he stays away from me. _Elsa thought frowning. "Eric, I have come up with this scheme to marry under my conditions, and now the crown of Arendelle will join with a title which is appropriate to its long history and prestige."

"But he doesn't love you and you don't love him."

"Who I love isn't important!" Elsa exclaimed. "I love you, but I'm a Queen and I won't fail in my duty. You cannot understand what that means." _My duty is to spare you my fate._ Elsa thought.

Erick frowned hearing Elsa's words. "Is a title so important? Your sister doesn't seem to care about that."

Elsa decided that this was the moment to hit him as hard as possible. "I love my sister dearly, but the man she has chosen as the object of her affections is a humiliation for the house of Arendelle. I won't repeat her mistakes just for," Elsa suddenly stopped talking, feigning that she had said too much.

"A petty Count." Erick completed

Elsa remained silent for a moment as if she had slipped up badly. "Leave Erick. If you really love me, we will never meet again." Elsa said turning her back on him, she felt that if she saw Erick's eyes, she wouldn't be strong enough to keep lying.

Erick, put the other boot on and left the room without uttering a single word.

* * *

Anna was seated in the low stonewall looking at the fjord. The first sunbeams were visible in the Eastern mountains, but the fjord was still in darkness. The Imperial brigantine in the port was illuminated by a few lamps. They will depart soon and the members of the Imperial delegation who won't attend the wedding were already embarking

Anna heard a door opening behind her. Erick left the building; his face was grave and that worried the Princess. "Is everything all right?" She asked.

Erick just shook his head. "Good bye Anna. I must leave."

"Erick what happened? My sister loves you."

"Not enough and a crow isn't an eagle." Erick replied. "I'm very happy for your marriage with Kristoff and I wish you the best, but I have to leave, the ship is about to depart. Hopefully we will meet again."

Both gazed one to each other, speechless, and finally embraced. After that, without adding a single word, Erick strode towards the servant's house, which had a little stable at its side, to fetch his horse.

"What the hell!" Anna muttered going towards the main house and entering. She found Elsa lying naked on the bed. The Queen of Arendelle had curled up with her eyes closed.

* * *

(*) Pelisse: A pelisse was originally a short fur lined or fur trimmed jacket that was usually worn hanging loose over the left shoulder of hussar light cavalry soldiers, ostensibly to prevent sword cuts. The name was also applied to a fashionable style of woman's coat worn in the early 19th century. (Excerpt from wikipedia)


	53. Bishop's Gambit

Allan and Howart Halkett were in a boat in the middle of the dark waters of the fjord. They had left the frigate few minutes ago and went towards Arendelle s harbor The sun had begun to rise over the mountains; the first sun beams speared the darkness inside the fjord, but the light was still dim when they approached the huge Imperial brigantine which had gotten as close as possible to the harbor in order to make their embarking easier.

_The Captain is very good at his job if he was able to put that huge ship so close to the shore. _Alan thought looking at the Imperial vessel. It was about to depart, and over the sounds generated by the buzz of activity in its deck Allan heard the orders of the captain. Although the British Captain didn't speak German, he could imagine what he was saying. When they were passing the ship, Allan noticed that the Captain switched to speak Italian instead of German. The reason was that a boat, with three men on it, had reached the ship. One of its passengers was climbing the rope ladder towards the deck. The Captain, the bald Genoese man whose name Allan wasn't able to remember, was shouting in Italian to them.

Allan didn't speak Italian, but he was sure that the Captain was more amused than angry with the latecomer. The clank of a chain indicated that they were weighing the anchor at the same moment that the man from the boat reached the deck. In the bright light of a lamp which hung near the end of the rope ladder, Allan recognized Captain Erick Simonyi who hadn t even replied to the Captain of the ship.

On the boat, which began to return to the harbor, Corrado, Queen's Elsa engineer, was also shouting to the two men in the ship while the other man stood in silence at his side. _It's strange,_ Allan thought. _It seems that the Captain of the ship has been delaying the departure until that man arrived, but he didn't seem angry._ _Instead the Queen s engineer seemed really furious._

Allan looked with interest at the skilled maneuvers of the brigantine as it began to move towards the mouth of the fjord.

"You seem pretty interested in that ship." Howart Halkett, who was at his side, said.

Allan turned to face his uncle. "I envy its Captain. He will leave this petty Kingdom behind and forget it."

Howart smiled. "Are you already bored of the Queen's hospitality?"

"I don't like to see England humiliated and that was exactly what had happened here yesterday." Allan replied.

"You have only seen the first movement of a chess game. The snow witch has deceived us, but she will discover that the game isn t over yet."

"Come on, she will marry an Imperial Duke. It's the worst option for England!"

"And also for France. That gives us an opportunity"

"What do you mean?"

"The pact is fragile and a crisis could change everything."

"What crisis?" Allan asked.

His uncle just smiled and exited onto the pier to which the boat had approached while they were talking. There, King Vladimiras of Lithuania stood with his escort, a bald man with a great scar crossing his face, at his side. They looked towards the ship although they seemed engaged in a lively discussion which ended abruptly when both Englishmen arrived.

Lord Howart Halkett coldly nodded at the future King, and received one in return. At that moment Allan realized that the man who was in the boat with the Queen's engineer was Antanas, the young Lithuanian heir.

Uncle and nephew left the harbor towards the castle. It was early in the morning and Arendelle's castle was still sleeping. The night had been stormy and the ground was still wet. The sun beams of the early morning weren't able to warm them and the ground crunched under their boots.

"This cold is strange for summer." Allan said when they crossed the castle gates.

"It could be helpful." His uncle enigmatically replied while strode towards the castle chapel.

"Wait here and warn me if somebody comes." Lord Howart Halkett said when they reached the main door of the chapel as he peeked in.

Allan nodded and waited under the porch while Lord Halkett entered through the open door.

The great room was dimly illuminated by the shafts of light from the pale sun which entered through the paneled windows. The Englishman could see the man he was looking for at the opposite end of the church. He was alone. Just as Lord Halkett had hoped.

Bishop Bodo was clad in his ceremonial clothing although he was just preparing the altar for the mass. The English diplomat remembered the ceremony of the coronation of Princess Anna as regent of Arendelle. All the delegations had received the invitation just after the end of the conference. It was obvious that it has been arranged previously, and it was a slap in the face of the Empire. It clearly showed that Arendelle would remain governed by people from Arendelle.

_It would be interesting to attend the meeting between the Imperial delegate and the Queen. _Lord Halkett thought while he walked along the long hall towards the apse of the church. _That Hungarian upstart will also suffer the poison of that snow witch._

Halkett reached the altar but the Bishop didn't turn. He was cleaning the chalice and other items for the mass. "Bishop Bodo." He said to catch his attention.

"I heard you entering in the church." The man just replied. He didn't even turn nor stop cleaning the chalice.

Lord Halkett patiently waited while the Bishop finished his task. He had been informed by Clarence, the northern Baron of Arendelle, about where to find him, warning him about his peculiar character. When he finished cleaning, the man turned and looked at Halkett. He was a tall and wiry man, almost gaunt, long in the face with two clear blue eyes which tended to look fixedly, giving him a strange look.

"Lord Howart Halkett in my humble church! What have I done to deserve such a great honor?" Bodo slowly said with grave voice.

_Not humble enough to stop cleaning your silverware._ Lord Halkett though.

Bodo signaled with a wave of the hand one of the first benches and both men sat in it.

"Tell me." The Bishop said as if he was used to receive a high dignitary of a major power everyday.

"I have been told that you are a brave man who dare to say the truth whatever the cost." Lord Halkett said.

"Who has spoken so favorably about me?" The Bishop's voice was laced with irony.

"Men whose judgment I trust."

"If you are talking about Clarence and Ebbe our beloved Northern Barons they would leave me alone with my bravery as my only company, if things were to go wrong."

_The Bishop doesn't deceive himself. He has a clear idea of their characters._ Lord Halkett thought surprised by the Bishop's frankness. "Alone against the Queen?" He added trying to provoke him.

Bodo looked fixedly at the diplomat in front of him for a long time before replying. "Why do you ask that?"

_It's clear that he don't want to talk too much about the Queen. He doesn t despise her as he despises both Barons. _"I have come because I have been told that you are one of the few men in Arendelle who dare to speak honestly about the Queen."

"And?"

"You always made people think about the origin of the strange climate in Arendelle. I have heard that in this very hall during the mass."

"I just say what is obvious for any reasonable person. Everybody knows the origin of this unnatural cold but nobody dares to speak the truth." The Bishop talked slowly as if he was measuring twice every word before uttering them.

"Except you. You talk about her powers, though always through metaphor. "

"I'm the servant of a higher power. But I'm just a man and her authority as Queen and" The Bishop hesitated before going on. "Whatever she is, exceeds mine. If I was expelled from Arendelle, who would take care of my flock?"

"I have come to offer England's protection to you and your flock." Lord Halkett said.

"Why would England worry about the fate of a humble Norwegian priest? We don't even share the same religion (*)."

"Not so humble. You were instructed at the university of Copenhagen. In fact I was surprised to meet a man like you in a petty place like this."

The Bishop smiled amused. "I'm happy that you have such a high opinion about me, but what about the reason to offer England's protection so freely?"

"I don't trust her and I want somebody in the Kingdom who could face her."

"Why are you worried? I have been told that she will leave Arendelle soon." Bodo asked.

"Do you trust her? She has demonstrated to have a fiendish ability in diplomacy. In fact I suspect that her powers are not limited to ice and can be used in other ways. Maybe to influence people's minds. Her using her powers yesterday during the conference could be the reason of such an unnatural cold in the middle of the summer this morning. I'm sure that she would try to remain or return to Arendelle. No matter the cost for her own country and people."

"Do you really believe that she will stay in Arendelle?" Bodo replied. The Bishop had been pleased to hear that Elsa would leave Arendelle. The mere idea of the Queen remaining in the Kingdom was disturbing to him.

He remembered the humiliation he had felt when discovering the truth about Elsa's powers the same day that he had crowned the young Queen. For the entire ceremony, she had been the image of angelic perfection, with her beautiful face, innocence and discretion. He had spoken so favorably about her during the mass. But the very day of her coronation she revealed herself as the holder of strange powers which could only have a dark origin.

_She deceived and humiliated me in front of my flock. How I could guide them if I can be deceived so easily to crown such a dubious creature as Queen of Arendelle. _The Bishop thought raising his eyes and looking the Englishman straight into the eye.

Lord Halkett noticed Bodo's sudden upset. "Who knows what she would dare? I want to ensure that she leaves Arendelle forever and I think you could help me."

"I'm just a humble servant of God." Bodo replied but his eyes were making a mute question to Halkett.

"Talk to the people. Make them understand than their families and possessions don't have to be under the menace of that witch. If she had the people against her, her position would be weaker."

"In Arendelle we know how to handle a witch. But that means an open confrontation with the crown."

"You will have England's protection."

"And what would England's protection be, in the hypothetical case that it was necessary?" The Bishop asked trying to hide his interest.

"If the Queen of Arendelle or her puppet regent make any move against you, England would formally complain and demand your restoration as Bishop of Arendelle if it was needed."

"And what actions would England be willing to make if the Queen expelled me?"

* * *

Allan Halkett was still waiting in the door of the chapel when his uncle came out. "Did everything go well?" The young captain asked.

"It was easier than I expected. For some reason he hates the Queen and he just needed a little push to move. He will begin to seriously incite the people against the witch."

"Do you think he will be smart enough to make the right movements? It isn't an easy thing to raise the people against their rightful ruler."

"He doesn t seem a fool. But what he does isn't important. The reaction of the Queen will be the important part. If she makes any move against Bodo we will declare in Westminster that it is a maneuver of the Empire against Arendelle's independence. The Empire is catholic, it will be easy to depict any reprisal against Bodo as an Imperial attack against the Protestants of Arendelle. So we will have an excuse to intervene and, as we officially will be fighting against the Empire and protecting Arendelle's independence, the treaties would be maintained."

"Even if our ships shell Arendelle?"

"We would be fighting against the Arendelle's pro-Imperial faction. Hopefully the Queen and her sister wouldn't be killed due to a regrettable accident." Lord Halkett said looking at the open space in front of the chapel. It was empty but for an Arendelle's guard who was crossing it towards the castle gates. "Now we must prepare the meeting with our fickle Lithuanian King to solve the issue of our pending commerce treaty, but tomorrow I will meet with our beloved Arendelle's Northern Barons; I want to spur them into action."

"And how are you going to do it? They didn't seemed especially daring; rather they will just sit and watch."

"We must encourage them in the right way. Did I never tell you that Clarence is the third in the line of succession to Arendelle's throne after the Snow witch and her shameless sister."

* * *

"Hopefully the ship will sink in the middle of the North Sea and everybody will drown."

"Don't you think you are being unfair Steponas?" Vladimiras replied while he looked at the Imperial brigantine and Erick who was climbing to its deck.

"In that case, I would resign myself if only that damned black wolf, clad in the skin of a hussar, drowned alone in the middle of the sea."

"I don't like this sort of talk. He will be one of ours from now on."

"He won't be one of ours whatever uniform he wears and I also don't like the idea of him clad in Lithuanian uniform."

Vladimiras sighed. "He will be of great help to our diplomats in Vienna. Let alone if he finally accepts to lead our new hussar regiment."

Steponas turned his head in surprise to look at his Lord. "Hadn't he rejected that offer?"

"Before embarking he told me that he was reconsidering it. He asked for permission to take some time to make up his mind."

"It isn't a good idea that he would command one of our regiments."

"He is a superb soldier and I believe that he will be a superb colonel. You hate him too much."

"Your elder brother died in the battle which expelled us from the Plains because of him. He caused the defeat of Lithuania and brought sorrow and disgrace to your house."

"And also the death of your only son." Vladimiras added.

Steponas winced and just nodded in reply.

Vladimiras went on. "Steponas, he just did his duty. He was a soldier fighting in a battle and in a war. What caused the defeat of Lithuania, brought disgrace to my house and provoked the death of your only son was that our army's commander advanced too much and gave the opportunity to the Imperials to annihilate him and the soldiers who protected him."

"Now are you putting the blame on your brother? It's easy since dead people seldom protest."

Vladimiras turned his head to face Steponas. "You and I know why my brother rejected my advice that fateful day. He had just discovered that I had bedded his wife. I provoked all those misfortunes and I was not doing my duty when I lay with my sister in law."

Steponas looked at Vladimiras surprised by his harsh words. "A general must keep a cool head and not allow personal issues to affect his judgment. He should have accepted your advice." He finally replied.

"Are you putting the blame on a dead man?" Vladimiras said with irony.

"The Englishmen." Steponas muttered. A boat carrying Howart and Allan Halkett has reached the pier and they were disembarking. Both Lithuanians remained silent until the diplomat and his nephew had left the harbor.

"I want an answer!" Vladimiras said when they were alone again.

"What do you mean about answer?" Steponas replied annoyed.

"An answer to the question about who must bear the blame for what happened."

"This conversation has no point. Are you really so worried about the Imperial?"

"Your opinion about Erick Simonyi is not the reason of my question."

"What questions are you talking about?" Antanas asked. The young Lithuanian had reached the pier, and after saying goodbye to Corrado, had approached both men.

"Old stories of old soldiers that are of no use." Steponas replied.

But Antanas was looking at Vladimiras in surprise. He was not used to seeing him so affected.

"Steponas is right, they are useless." Vladimiras finally replied. "And we have to prepare for the meeting with Lord Halkett. You will be present Antanas."

The young Lithuanian nodded. "Do you think that he will keep to the conditions of the treaty?"

"When we agreed it, he said that Queen Elsa's hand was a gain for Lithuania and received some benefits in exchange. Hopefully he will accept to forgive us for having deserted him if we keep those advantageous conditions for England."

"And if he doesn't accept?"

"Then I will try to make a treaty with France. He isn't as good as England since his commercial fleet would be blocked in case of war, but they will be willing to pay better prices. Anyway we will return tomorrow morning to Lithuania whatever the result of the meeting"

"So soon? I thought that we would stay in Arendelle until we met a final arrangement."

"My coronation awaits me and isn't a good idea to postpone it too long. If we don t reach an agreement with the English today, we will negotiate with the French in the future. After the meeting get ready to depart."

Antanas looked at Vladimiras before replying. "I would prefer to stay in Arendelle."

Vladimiras frowned. "Why do you want to remain in Arendelle?"

"I have my reasons." Antanas warily replied.

"A reason with blonde hair?" Steponas teasingly added with a broad smile twisting the scar on his face.

Antanas frowned at the bald soldier.

"Won't you be at my coronation?" Vladimiras asked ignoring Steponas comment.

"I think it's better that I stay away."

"Why do you say that? You are my heir."

"Until you father sons and I suppose that you will marry sooner rather than later. But the main reason is that too many people in Lithuania believe that I should be crowned instead of you and they will have dangerous ideas. I prefer to be far away from Lithuania until you are crowned as King."

The smile disappeared from Stepona's face and he looked in surprise at the young Lithuanian who stood in front of his uncle.

"Is it the only reason?" Vladimiras asked.

"As you always say, the world is complex and a wise man makes his decisions not for only one reason but for several." Antanas replied looking straight at his eyes.

Vladimiras nodded and looked around, checking that they were alone in the pier. "Then I will explain my plans to you. I would have told you them after talking with your mother, but I don't want to part from you before talking with you about them."

"What are you going to do?" Antanas asked.

"Once in Lithuania I will ask your mother to marry me."

"At last!" Antanas exclaimed.

"You aren t surprised?" Vladimiras asked.

"I'm only surprised because you have taken such a long time to do it. Why didn't you married her before?" Antanas replied.

Steponas humorlessly laughed. "I have been asking the same question for the last three years."

Vladimiras glowered at Steponas. "Did you already know about I and your…" Vladimiras didn't completed the phrase as if he hadn t dared to.

"Of course I did." Antanas replied. "Although I was only twelve years old, during the retreat from the Plains, everybody talked about the fight between you and your brother which caused our defeat and your supposed reasons. I didn't understand what they were talking about, and after the war, people stopped talking about it, but I remembered it and finally asked my mother some time ago who my father was."

"And did she answer you?" Vladimiras asked trying to ignore Steponas who was struggling to hold back his laughter although his eyes were sad.

Antanas nodded. "But if you want to know the answer you will have to ask her."

Vladimiras shook his head. "I don't know and I don't want to know."

Antanas took a deep breath before going on. "And now tell me why didn't you married her before."

"My father opposed; he knew that such a marriage could put your mother's family, one of the great families that opposes my plans to modernize Lithuania, at my side." Vladimiras paused before going on. "And he had also other reasons. Finally, I had assumed that I would never marry her."

"Are you sure that my mother's father, won't oppose also? Maybe he won't want to join his family with the man who wants to change Lithuania."

"I will play the same card that the Queen of Arendelle did with the diplomats. I will use one of his cities as port to trade with the English or the French. This means a huge amount of money and will help to smooth his reluctance. But first of all I have to convince your mother to marry me."

"Will you really ask her?" Antanas asked.

Vladimiras nodded. "Yes and this is the only part of my plan that couldn't work. Your mother won't be convinced just by riches or port cities. I hope she will accept or the entire plan will be spoiled."

"Your plan being spoiled would be the only reason to be upset by my mother's refusal?" Antanas asked raising his eyebrows and looking at the future King of Lithuania with a hint of sadness gleaming in his eyes that upset Vladimiras.

(*) England was Anglican and Norway Lutheran Protestants.

* * *

NA: Hi everybody

Thanks for the comment alvinandbrittany4ever, I will try to make it even more interesting in the chapters to come.

I hope you enjoyed Halkett's plan. Did you think that he will give up so easily? ;). In the next chapters I wil delve in the reactions of different characters to the final agreement of the conference and also in the reactions of both sisters of course. I also detail the Lithuanians. They have a lot of things to explain for themselves.

See you in Arendelle.


	54. Conversations

Friedrich von Schrader sat by the fire with a sigh of relief and put his right foot on a stool close to the hearth while he looked at Collin Halkett, clad in his red uniform of British infantry Colonel, who was pouring two glasses of Port. They were in a little room near the Main Hall. The Count's foot was painful and his friend had accompanied him to a place where he could rest.

"Are you tired old walrus?" The English asked handing the Prussian one of the glasses.

"My leg hurts due to that damned cold. But the fact that your brother's pride is in a far worse condition gives comfort to me." The Prussian replied with heavy sarcasm.

"Are you talking about the meeting with the Lithuanian? Although it was extremely hard, even by my brother's standards, they have reached an agreement."

"I was not talking about that. Everybody knew that they would reach an agreement. Both sides were interested in the treaty and were smart enough to know it. The only point to clarify was how much the Lithuanian would have to give in. I'm talking about Queen Elsa's triumph." The Prussian stated.

Collin sipped his glass. "It is strange that you consider getting married to Duke Adrian Simonyi a triumph. Did you seen the expression on his face when he sat in the throne of Arendelle at the beginning of the ball? "

"He is just a pawn in a chess game that he doesn't even understand."

"He will be King. It's a great promotion for a pawn."

"You can put a crown over the head of a fool and he will remain a fool. He is a just pawn in a good position on the chessboard, but not for his ability. She has moved everything kicking, the ass of all the diplomats of the main powers in the process. They thought that she was a little kitten but she has revealed herself as a tiger."

Collin looked in surprise at this old comrade. "You seem to be fond of her."

"Yes. When I saw her proudly standing in front of the delegates, only armed with her intelligence and willingness to sacrifice herself, she reminded me Queen Louise of Prussia (*) in front of Napoleon." Von Schrader's eyes stared into the space as if he was looking and hearing facts which had happened long time ago.

"You surprise me. Is my brother going to lose and ally against her?"

The Prussian Count slowly shook his head stopping daydreaming. "On other occasions, I have plotted against and, in some cases, ruined the lives of people who I admired. But I have to admit that I really admire her. I have always liked brave and strong women like her or our Queen Louise.

"She is not only brave and intelligent, she is also protective of the weak." Collin added.

"Why would you say that?" The Prussian asked looking at his friend with interest.

"She took care of and maneuvered Mullon into returning Elias Gonzaga home."

The Prussian took another sip. "I think she just wanted to get rid of an unpleasant candidate."

"Then why did she go to the harbor to see him off."

"Maybe she wanted to rub her victory in his mother's face. According with what I have been told Madam Gonzaga deserved that."

Collin Halkett shook his head. "That doesn't add up with the way she worried about Elias. She protected the boy and I'm grateful for that."

"I think you are too influenced by the memory of his father and you saw what you wanted to see."

"Andres Gonzaga, Elias father, did save my life during the retreat to Corunna(**), but that hasn't affected my judgment."

"Andres Gonzaga." Friedrich frowned remembering Elias' father. "He was snooty and arrogant as only a Spaniard can be."

"But also a loyal companion. You were too different. That's why the two of you quarreled during the entire Peninsular War (***). He was very proud, maybe too proud, and you are proud only when it is useful to get your goals."

"You are right! My country had been put to its knees after Jena and Auerstedt (****). A lot of our best men went into exile and our Queen had to deal personally with Napoleon to preserve Prussia's integrity. We were fighting for our survival as country, so we hadn't the capacity nor the right to be too proud."

"Andres' country had also been put to its knees."

"Maybe his royal family didn't inspire him to fight and he, lacking real desire to fight, just wanted to display a beautiful façade for the posterity."

"You are being unfair. He fought bravely for his country."

"But he never wanted get his hands dirty and just played at being hero. He didn't want to risk his honor in a really difficult situation. He only worried about what people would say. He was like my younger brother. He failed miserably commanding his squad in Auerstedt and if he hadn't been so obsessed with his delicate honor, he wouldn't have hanged himself leaving his two sons alone in the world."

Collin looked at the old Count with sympathy. "You know sometimes I ask myself why we are friends."

Friedrich laughed. "Because I'm the only person in the world who drinks more than you. So you can tell everybody that you aren't the worst drunkard in the world."

The British colonel laughed. "But I'm also very proud. You told me that once."

The Prussian Count shook his head. "But you aren't proud in the same way. He always acted as if any minor detail was a potential challenge to his honor. Always worried about what the rest of the world would think about him."

"I think you are describing a code of honor."

"I'm describing an asshole who always reacted in an overly sensitive and aggressive way. You only explode when something important for you is at stake, even if you are the only person in the world who cares about it, and then you throw caution to the wind. In fact you don't give a fig for what people will say. If you weren't an Englishman, you even could be a good man!"

Colin smiled. "Andres couldn't stand jokes like that."

"Didn't I already tell you that he was an asshole?"

Collin raised his glass. "Maybe he was an asshole, but a great companion and friend also."

"If you want me to share your toast, please, let's drink for his son. I would regret to see you drinking alone."

"For his son then and for the brave and kind Queen of Arendelle who took care of him."

The Count stood up from his chair and raised his glass. "For the Queen of Arendelle!" He said wincing as he leaned his weight over his right foot.

"Although I fear that her future will be bleak." Collin replied.

"Yes. Your brother hates her. He will use every opportunity that pops up to make her life worse, and won't hesitate to ruin Arendelle in the process if it is necessary."

Collin nodded. "I suppose that you are right. Her enemies are too strong and she doesn't have the slightest chance, in spite of her intelligence and abilities." He stated with sad voice.

"She is dancing on a razor's edge just like Louise." Friedrich muttered as he slowly turned his face and looking at the fire with a dreamy expression in his eyes.

* * *

Vladimiras was in his private chambers since he didn't want to be in the Main Hall. After the meeting with Lord Halkett, he felt that his stay in Arendelle was coming to an end, so he preferred to be alone and meditate about what he would find in Lithuania while he enjoyed the cold air which entered through the open window.

He had already apologized to the Queen for leaving the ball so soon and for leaving Arendelle before her wedding. Antanas would represent Lithuania at the ceremony. The Queen, kind and charming, had understood that he had to return as soon as possible to his own Kingdom. Duke Simonyi, who was sitting at her side, had barely concealed his satisfaction. He wasn't fond of any Lithuanian, especially anyone from Vladimiras' family.

During the conversation, Vladimiras had felt the sudden and unexpected desire to take back rescinding his claim to Elsa's hand. In that case he would have been sitting on the throne instead of Duke Simonyi.

_You hate him so much that you would marry a woman you don't love and spoil your plans for Lithuania just to annoy him? _The future King thought, but he knew that his real reasons were the contrast between Elsa's formal and polite, but charming way, and her husband to be. He couldn't help feeling pity for the young Queen.

He sighed and was about to go to sleep when somebody knocked at the door. "Come in." He said raising from the chair where he was sitting.

Aras, the Lithuanian seneschal, entered the room. "Good night my Prince."

"Good night Aras. Did you find anything wrong with the treaty?"

Aras closed the door behind him. "No. I still think that it is a good enough compromise. Nobody is fully satisfied, but everybody gets enough to uphold it. I want to talk about Antanas."

Vladimiras flung himself onto the chair and frowned. "Haven't we discussed that enough?"

"You know I don't agree with your decision about allowing him to stay in Arendelle."

"I have already told you that I won't force him to come with us."

"He is the worst threat to your position as King. After the death of your father his other grandfather is the natural leader of the conservative faction."

"And as I have told you, I plan to transform him in an ally."

"And it could work, but what will happen if your offer of controlling a port wasn't enough and you don't win his support?"

Vladimiras hadn't explained to the seneschal his plans to marry Antanas' mother, thus offering a matrimonial alliance to Antanas' grandfather, but he wouldn't say anything until talking to her. "I will convince him."

"But if you fail, they would have an alternative to present as King of Lithuania."

"He will be out of Lithuania until I'm crowned."

"I'm not worried about the coronation. I fear what will come after. When you start to make the reforms you have talked about. He will be the natural symbol for anyone who opposes those changes. He must be kept close to us and under control."

"He is still too young."

"But his grandfather is an adult and a powerful man. He could use him to rally the people around the banner of the true heir. And, truth to be told, both of us know that it wouldn't be a complete lie. Your appointment as heir, although valid, was quite irregular."

Vladimiras stared for a long time at the seneschal. "Why do you worry so much? You don't like the reforms I'm going to implement anyways. In fact, I can picture you in the faction of Antanas' grandfather."

"More easily than Antanas?" Aras asked with irony. "I protect the realm, you are the rightful heir by royal appointment that wasn't revoked. If we tried to change that, we would risk a civil war. You won't give up in your plans to modernize Lithuania without bloodshed and the best part of the army is at your side."

"I'm grateful for your advice and sincerity, but the boy will stay in Arendelle for as long as he wants. I trust him."

"You know that there have been rebellions against crowned Kings, led even by their own sons; bastards or legitimate, and usually they trusted them.

"You aren't going to change my mind about this." Vladimiras stated.

"Then allow me to assign some trusted men to stay with him as an escort. Some noblemen who agree with the reforms you want to do. They will watch him and protect him. I'm also worried about his own safety. At the same time that Antanas had become such an important figure in Lithuanian politics, the people who want your reforms could plan to kill him."

Vladimiras took a deep breath. "I am begining to understand why my father keep you at his side for so long." He nodded before going on. "I will assign Antanas an escort."

"I have some possible candidates in mind." Aras quickly replied.

"I'm sure of that. Thank you, but I will personally choose who will stay with Antanas in Arendelle," Vladimiras said.

* * *

"They are different." Duke Simonyi said looking at the two thrones.

"As Arendelle's traditions dictate." Elsa replied.

As a recognition to his future status as King consort of Arendelle the Queen had ordered Kay to bring the second throne reserved for the consort of the King or Queen of Arendelle to the Main Hall, and place it by her own throne. The Duke was obviously pleased by the formal recognition, but upon discovering that the throne of the consort was smaller and less impressive than Elsa's throne, his happiness had been spoiled.

"Queen Elsa of Arendelle and her future consort Duke Adrian." Kai solemnly announced. Everybody in the hall applauded the couple.

_They are celebrating the final product of the conference,_ Anna thought while she approached to the thrones and Kay announced her.

"Princess Anna, crowned regent of Arendelle." Kay said provoking a wince from Adrian who turned to look at her with disdain.

Elsa had placed a third seat over the platform by the thrones for Anna and Kai had placed it with such dexterity that even being just a great chair, it gave more prominence to Anna than Adrian.

"You have to give me an answer about the date of our wedding." The Duke said when the three of them were already seated.

"We have to wait for your ship, for our trip to Hungary after the wedding." Elsa replied.

"That will take too long. Besides they will make very little progress the first day because they will stop at the Southern isles. They must be there at this time, making first contact from the Imperial diplomacy with our new neighbors. So we won't wait the ship. Anyway we wouldn't want to spend our wedding night on a ship. We will stay some days in Arendelle before we begin our trip. "

Elsa stiffened when she heard Adrian's words and meditated for a while. "Then we will marry in six days."

Elsa's words went through Anna's heart. Elsa had been trying to delay the decision as long as possible, but now they were a step closer to Elsa's departure from Arendelle.

Adrian was obviously pleased by the confirmation of the date for the wedding, but even in that positive mood he wasn't especially affable. He made a comment, that Anna suspected he considered friendly, about Elsa's hairstyle. Elsa had put her hair up in a bun, and that makes the long scar on her neck very visible, and he talked about the convenience of hiding her scar using her long braid in the wedding and in the future.

"Now you will be dealing with Europe's best nobility." He said.

Anna stood as much as she could at her sister's side, until Adrian described the way Arendelle was governed as too benevolent to their subjects and began a detailed description of how he managed his own Duchy, which was by no stretch of the imagination benevolent. Elsa listened with a polite interest, but the Princess of Arendelle gave up, and giving an excuse which raised a faint smile on her sister's face, left the platform over which the thrones were placed.

Anna went to a corner of the Main Hall as far as possible from the thrones and took a deep breath trying to calm down herself. She was really fed up with Duke Adrian's presence.

_But I can't leave my sister too long with that brute, _Anna thought preparing herself to return with her sister. Suddenly a voice called her.

"Princess Anna, I was pleased to hear that you will marry a man from Arendelle." The man who addressed Anna was a tall and hefty man of long face, blonde hair, blue eyes and a big nose with a strange form. He was the spitting image his father Herolf, one of the southern Barons, although twenty years younger. He was clad in the uniform of the Arendelle's dragoons.

"Reinhard, what a nice surprise!" Anna said trying to hide her embarrassment. The young heir to one of Arendelle's baronies had been a possible candidate to her hand before the conference and she feared that he wanted to try again now that she wouldn't be married with any foreigner.

The man noticed Anna's tension and laughed. "Don't worry. I don't have any intentions about you. I'm happy that you will marry Kristoff."

Anna sighed in relief. "I feared that you had misunderstood our intentions."

"I was aware of your affections for the mountain man the day we danced in this very hall. Do you remember? My father wanted me to marry you and your sister told him that she would consent, if you accepted me."

Anna nodded and smiled sincerely amused by the joking tone of voice of the young dragoon, her sister had kept her in the dark about Herolf's intentions the day they danced, although Elsa informed her later. "But I didn't tell you anything about Kristoff that day."

"You danced just one song with me, and more than ten with Kristoff. It was easy to see that you were delighted dancing with him. Even my father, who is really stubborn, realized that it would be impossible to obtain your agreement."

Anna chuckled. "I didn't intend to be rude."

"You didn't. It was obvious that your preferences weren't motivated by Kristoff dancing skills. I'm sure that he has a lot of virtues, but being a good dancer isn't one of them. "

Anna couldn't help laughing.

"So I'm sincerely happy of you marriage with Kristoff. I only regret that your sister must marry against her will." A hint of sadness gleamed in his eyes saying the last words.

Anna looked at him with sympathy. "When did you arrive in Arendelle?" She asked changing the subject.

"This very morning. I was with Nelberg watching the southern passes. He sent me to ask for five barrels loaded with a delicate stuff which we didn't received at its due time."

Anna gulped realizing that Reinhard was talking about the five barrels of gunpowder which had exploded in the warehouse. "I'm sorry but they..."

"Kai informed me this morning of what happened with them." The young man interrupted Anna. "Don't worry. We have enough already stored." In that moment the orchestra began to play a new piece. "Do you want to dance?" He asked offering his right hand to Anna.

She smiled and took the offered hand. "When will you return with Nelberg?" She asked as they started to dance.

"Tomorrow morning. I'm necessary in the south and, sincerely, I don't want to stay in Arendelle more than I need to." The man answered looking for a moment with cold eyes at the figure of Duke Adrian who was seated by Elsa.

Once Anna finished her dance with Reinhard she went towards the throne to discover that Elsa had left the Hall. Duke Adrian Simonyi was alone in his throne and Anna decided that she wouldn't be the one who would alleviate his solitude.

"Where is Elsa?" Anna asked Kai who was going towards the orchestra.

"She felt indisposed and went to her private rooms. Truth be told the Duke's advice about how to rule Arendelle are reason enough to feel sick." The seneschal replied.

Anna already knew where her sister was and discreetly left the Main Hall to go upstairs towards the balcony over the hall. She wanted to talk a while with Elsa to comfort her. Besides, they had been busy all day, and Anna hadn't managed to have a single minute to talk about what happened between Elsa and Erick. Elsa had explained, when Anna had approached her in the hunting pavilion, that Erick's brother planned to ruin Erick's career and that she intended to avoid that.

Anna sighed she hadn't been able to get anything else from her sister. _What the hell happened in the hunting pavilion? They are in love with each other. I'm sure of that,_ the Princess thought when she went out onto the balcony. Elsa was there, leaning on the rail looking at the moon. The Queen of Arendelle was so absorbed that she didn't even notice that her sister was behind her.

Anna heard the notes of the moonlight sonata coming from below and realized that Elsa had told Kai to ask the orchestra to play that piece.

Elsa started to slowly rock to and fro as if she was dancing with an imaginary companion and Anna, who had gone to the balcony to comfort her sister, decided that Elsa was in better company already. _Even if he is imaginary, _she thought watching her sister slowly dancing alone under the moonlight.

* * *

(*) Queen Louise of Prussia: Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Luise Auguste Wilhelmine Amalie; 10 March 1776 – 19 July 1810) was Queen consort of Prussia as the wife of King Frederick William III. Her legacy became cemented after her extraordinary 1807 meeting with French Emperor Napoleon I at Tilsit – she met with the emperor to plead unsuccessfully for favorable terms after Prussia's disastrous losses in the Napoleonic Wars. She was already well loved by her subjects, but her meeting with Napoleon led Louise to become revered as "the soul of national virtue". Her early death at the age of thirty-four "preserved her youth in the memory of posterity", and caused Napoleon to reportedly remark the king "has lost his best minister".

(**) Retreat to Corunna: During the Napoleonic wars an English army under the command of John Moore, doggedly pursued by the French under Soult, made an epic retreat across northern Spain while their rearguard fought off repeated French attacks. Both armies suffered extremely from the harsh winter conditions.

(***) Peninsular War: (1807–1814) It was a military conflict between Napoleon's empire and the allied powers of Spain, Britain and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars.

(****) Jena and Auerstedt: The twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt were fought on 14 October 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale in today's Germany, between the forces of Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Prussia. The decisive defeat suffered by the Prussian Army subjugated the Kingdom of Prussia to the French Empire until 1812.


	55. An Unexpected Return

Steponas stood on Arendelle's pier waiting for Vladimiras, who was talking with Antanas a few meters away. As when they saw Erick off, it was early in the morning and the fjord was still dimly illuminated by the sun rising over the mountains. A boat waited to transport him and the future King of Lithuania to the ship. Although the days to come would be troubled, Steponas really wanted to return to his homeland.

Vladimiras approached. "I don t want you to depart Steponas. You should remain here as escort to Antanas. A courier ship will remain here to bring both of you to Lithuania when you decide to return."

Although he remained silent, the veteran soldier frowned.

"This is not an order. It's a request from an old friend." Vladimiras added. "I hope we will meet again in Lithuania on my wedding day."

"Do I have to protect him or just watch him?" The veteran soldier replied.

"He asked the same question when I told him that you will stay at his side. Both I suppose. Protect him and try to keep him out of trouble."

"And what am I supposed to do if he tries to rise against you? Kill him or join the rebellion?" Steponas said with a cheating tone of voice.

"Whatever he does protect him." Vladimiras replied. Steponas was taken aback by Vladimiras' tone of voice. "I have also told Antanas that whatever his mother says about my wedding proposal or whatever she said about who his father is, I will adopt him as my son and rightful heir. He will inherit the throne even if I have more sons."

"Do you think that it will keep him loyal to you?"

Vladimiras shook his head. "No. He doesn t need the incentive, but I wanted to make it clear. I don't know when or under what conditions we will meet again."

* * *

Antanas and Steponas stood on the pier watching the Lithuanian ship maneuvering towards the mouth of the fjord.

"Did you have to become so infatuated to stay here just for a woman? There are plenty of them in Lithuania." Steponas said.

"Not like her. And life is complex enough to have several reason to do something."

Steponas snorted. "And when are we supposed to return to Lithuania?"

"When Vladimiras and my mother get married, not before. Then my grandfather will be on Vladimiras' side."

"And what will we do if your mother rejects him?"

"I hope that she will accept him. When I was a child, my uncle Vladimiras was my favorite uncle. He was always smiling, and had a smart joke to make you think and laugh. My grandfather complained that he didn't take anything seriously. I hope that the marriage to my mother will comfort him."

"He didn't smile after the battle in which we were expelled from the Plains."

"Was being expelled from the Plains the only reason for his bitterness?" The young Lithuanian asked.

"Life is complex enough to have several reasons for grieving, and some things once done, can't be changed. Although maybe you mother will put a bit of common sense in his skull." Steponas replied. "But tell me what are you going to do if she rejects him? Are we supposed to wander as ghosts through Europe following a blonde braid?"

"Who knows? I could apply for a place in the Imperial army. I have heard that they are short of Captains." Antanas replied laughing when he saw Steponas wincing.

* * *

"I don't understand why you are so upset with Lord Halkett. He just said that he counts on us if he had to take any measure against the Queen and even suggested that you would be the one who will take possession of the throne of Arendelle. That question he asked about your kinship with Elsa clearly indicates that." Ebbe, the norther baron, said smiling knowingly as he cut a great piece of meat from the steak he had on his dish.

Clarence, his brown-skinned cousin, looked at him for a long time while Ebbe chewed the meat. "Is that the only message you got from our conversation with the Englishman?"

"Well, It..." Ebbe tried to say but his mouth was full and he had to swallow the meat before talking. "Well, it's what he said."

"England fears for the liberty of Arendelle and will be ready to intervene if the Empire abuses their recently gained influence in Arendelle." Clarence said repeating Halkett's words.

Ebbe laughed. "Yes, that girl thought that she could keep the English at bay, but she will discover that the play hasn't finished yet. The English will use any possible excuse to intervene in Arendelle."

"And he counts on us to protect Arendelle's freedom." Clarence added.

"Of course. You are third in line of succession to the throne of Arendelle, and that phrase he said, '_Hopefully both sisters wouldn't be hurt if an open confrontation proves necessary' _clearly indicates that those girls days are numbered and you will be King of Arendelle instead of Elsa."

"Queen Elsa will be in the Empire tied to Duke's Adrian bed. Do you really believe that the British fleet will be able to hit her with a shell from Arendelle?"

Ebbe seemed confused. "Maybe they will provoke the confrontation when the Queen comes to visit Arendelle."

Clarence shook his head. "The English want to provoke an incident with the Empire in Arendelle, so he will be able to renegotiate the current treaty. He needs us at his side to represent it as an operation in support of the people of Arendelle fighting against the Empire."

Clarence paused before going on. "The death of both sisters and my possible coronation is just a lure to involve us in a confrontation between England and the Empire. What will happen if Elsa doesn t die?"

Ebbe frowned. "But at the end England will take care of..."

"At the end everybody will take care of their own interests. In the best case Elsa's womb will be as cold as she is and that Imperial won t have managed to get her pregnant. In that case England could implement a divorce and split Arendelle from the Empire and we would only have to live in a Kingdom ruled by a Queen against whom we would have fought."

Ebbe looked at his cousin in astonishment, his mouth was full of half chewed meat but he had forgotten it.

Clarence went on. "This is the best scenario. If the Imperial puts a child on Elsa's womb, it would be far more difficult to break the marriage, and we would have to deal with a very not friendly Empire ruling us after they reach an agreement. That English bastard and his arrogant nephew believe that we are idiots and we would allow that."

Ebbe, who had realized that he had a bit of meat on his mouth, gulped it with difficulty. He looked resentfully at his cousin as if he was meditating about the meaning of Clarence's last words about his mental capacities. "Are you suggesting that we must ignore Halkett's requests when the time comes? It's too risky. He would never forgive us and is a dangerous enemy."

"No. I'm suggesting that we must ensure that a collision between the Empire and England won't be necessary."

"How are you going to get such a miracle?"

"We will get rid of Elsa."

"Do you mean...?" Ebbe didn't dare to finish the question.

"Yes. It will be the best for Arendelle. The start of all these troubles are because of her powers and her reluctance to accept a marriage. If she disappeared, Arendelle would again be a little country and the more powerful European countries would ignore us."

"And what would happen if we were discovered?"

"Lord Halkett will be grateful. We would have freed him of Elsa."

"I'm sure that King Konrad of the Southern isles thought the same thing and Lord Halkett s reaction wasn't friendly."

"He failed." Clarence just replied.

'It's too dangerous."

"Would you prefer to disembark your troops in Arendelle to help a regiment of British grenadiers to take the castle? Wouldn t that be more dangerous, taking into account that the grenadiers would return to their country but we would remain subjects of the crown of Arendelle?"

"I don't like either ideas." Ebbe remained thoughtfully silent for a long time, his steak already forgotten, in front of him. Clarence patiently waited. He knew his cousin and also knew that Ebbe needed time to get over his fear. "How would you do it?" The fat Baron finally asked.

Clarence smiled triumphantly. "With poison, so everybody will believe that her death was natural."

"Won't it be odd, if she dies suddenly? She is a healthy young woman."

"She won't be so healthy. We will give her little doses which will weaken her health until she dies."

"Gundvard, the royal doctor, will discover that."

Clarence shook his head. "The only symptom will be weakness. He will attribute it to her continuous efforts during the conference."

"And how are you going to give her the poison? You will need to give her several doses."

"Here I need you. Do you remember the kitchen helper in the castle?"

"Are you talking about the one who was too fond of playing cards and to whom we helped by paying some debts?"

Clarence nodded. "That one. We saved him from jail and he has been our spy in the castle since then, but he doesn't know that he works for us. Is this correct?"

"He believes that the King of the Southern Isles paid the debt."

"Perfect, now he will help us in another way. Working in the kitchens, it would be easy to poison Elsa's food every day. If we move quickly, Elsa will taste her first dose this very night when she has dinner."

* * *

"Although the date of my departure hasn't been decided yet, it will be soon after the wedding and I want to use this opportunity to talk to all of you." Elsa said to the people around the table. They were in the Council room of the castle. Elsa had gathered her personal administrators Kai, Corrado and Rolf. They in turn had brought their assistants. Rolf for example had brought with him Mark and Harald his most trusted Captains.

They were the most important administrators of Arendelle's government, and they had been reporting about different issues to Elsa and Anna. The idea was to transfer to the Princess a detailed idea of the government issues. Kristoff at her side tried to retain as much information as possible and expected that Anna would be able to handle that amount of information.

When they were about to finish the meeting, Elsa had started to talk, but she took a deep breath before going on. "When I leave Arendelle, Anna will be the ruler and I expect from every one of you to obey her commands, even giving preference over any command which I could send from the Empire."

The young adjutants seemed surprised. They weren't aware of the details of the conference and it was not usual to receive from a Queen an order like that. "But even being far away, you will be the Queen of Arendelle." Mark dared to say.

"You are right, but I will be far away in a strange land. Anna will be in a better position to handle Arendelle's affairs." Elsa kindly replied but her voice hardened and become more commanding when she went on talking. "So I give you that last order; from now on Anna is the ruler of Arendelle."

Everybody nodded and started to leave the room except for both sisters, Kristoff, Kai and Rolf who remained seated.

"May we talk to you for a minute my Queen?" The seneschal asked when the rest of the people had left the room.

"Of course Kai. What do you want?"

"Bishop Bodo has been especially aggressive this morning in his speech during the mass." Kai said.

Rolf winced. "He is like a vulture circling a dead corpse."

"I suppose he has again alluded to my powers as the origin of this cold. Unfortunately he isn't entirely wrong."

"He didn't make allusions. He just talked about you and your powers." Kai replied.

"We must expel him from Arendelle. He has gone too far." Rolf said.

Kai shook his head. "The situation is too delicate. We are not interested in provoking an incident.

"Did he say anything about Anna?" Elsa asked.

"No he just talked about you."

"Then let him talk as much as he wants. I'm going to leave Arendelle soon. While he respects Anna's authority nothing must be done against him."

Rolf frowned, but stood up and followed Kai. Once Kai and Rolf had left the room Anna turned her head to face Kristoff. "Kristoff could you leave us alone? I have to talk with my sister."

He nodded and after kissing Anna also left the room and went directly to the stables.

* * *

Sven made a long bray of happiness when he saw Kristoff. The mountain man took a brush and started to brush Sven's hair. She is going to tell her sister.

The reindeer grunted and looked fixedly at Kristoff.

Why am I so worried? Well, it is going to be a hard conversation.

Sven made a long moo.

Of course I agree with her. But even if she convinces her sister, the situation wouldn't be better. I don't like that Elsa has to marry that Imperial even though it will allow our marriage. There is something filthy about it and I don't like that my marriage to Anna depends on that.

Sven grunted again.

I trust Anna! But I can't help being worried. I hope that Elsa's reaction won't be too...

At that moment the sound of voices from outside the stables interrupted Kristoff. The mountain man left the stables and saw that the people was running up the stairs of the castle walls and were looking towards the fjord.

* * *

After Kristoff had left the Council room, Gerda entered bringing a tray with two bowls full of soup on it. "It's late and both of you must have supper." The servant said as she put one of the bowls in front of Elsa.

"That s a good idea." Elsa said as she tasted the soup. It was cold as she liked. The Queen of Arendelle always preferred her food as cold as possible. Anna's soup, instead, was steaming hot.

Gerda, after checking that both sister were eating their soup, left the room.

"Did you want to talk with me?" Elsa asked looking warily at her younger sister as she filled her spoon.

"Yes, and not about the amount of goods unloaded in the harbor the last month." Anna replied. "First of all I want to invite you to my wedding."

"What are you talking about?" Elsa asked in surprise. "We will marry at the same time."

Anna swallowed a steaming spoon of soup before replying. "My wedding. I have talked with Kristoff and we will marry in four days in the valley of the living rock. We had already planned to have two weddings; one in Arendelle and the other with his family. And I want you to assist as my Maid of Honor, and that means that I must marry before the official ceremony in Arendelle. Besides the ceremony we are going to do together in the castle chapel won't be a happy moment for me. You will be bound to that brute and I don't want to remember that as part of my wedding day. Would you be my Maid of Honor?"

Elsa nodded with a broad smile on her face. "It's a wonderful idea. Thank you for choosing me."

Anna nervously smiled back and gulped a spoon of soup. "There is another thing to say."

Elsa frowned noticing Anna's anxiety. "What?"

"You are going to tell me what happened between you and Erick in the pavilion."

Elsa took another spoonful of soup before replying. "I'm not going to say anymore. Regarding Erick, did you send the letter I told you?"

"Yes a courier ship departed a few hours after the Imperial brigantine. They should have arrived at the Southern Isles yesterday afternoon. And Erick should have already received your letters."

"Did you sign them with your name?" Elsa asked.

"I did as you told me, and although I was tempted to send a third letter explaining what you have asked me to do."

"Don't even think that." Elsa quickly replied.

"Elsa this is madness. You love Erick and he loves you. What the hell happened in the pavilion?"

"Have you never heard about privacy?" Elsa inquired while she took another spoon of her soup.

"Honestly, I don't trust you."

"What!" Elsa exclaimed.

"I don't believe that you are going to be reasonable. You must explain to me what happened or I will send Erick a third letter."

"You wouldn t dare." Elsa furiously said.

"Of course I dare! The only thing Erick said when I told him that you loved him was 'not enough' . Elsa trembled when she heard Anna's words as if she had received a blow, but Anna mercilessly went on. "This doesn't add up with what I know. Did you tell him that you don't love him?"

Elsa shrugged. "After what happened and what we had said the night before it would be a bit useless." She replied with irony as she left her spoon on the empty bowl. "He knows that I love him and wanted to go with me to Vienna."

"But that's what you wanted. Isn't it?"

"Yes with all my heart, but what I desire isn't important. As I told you, I'm not going to risk or ruin his life."

"You didn't asked him to do that. He made the decision by himself. What did you say to him? He was really sad when he left the pavilion."

"He believed that I didn't want to marry him because he was only a minor Count."

Anna gaped in disbelief at her sister for a long time. "This has gone too far. You are going to send him a letter explaining him the truth. You have to let him to choose what he wants to do!"

"This is not up for discussion." Elsa said.

Anna remained silent for a long time before going on. "Elsa, I have talked about this with Kristoff and he agrees with me. If you don't send that letter to Erick, after the wedding in the troll valley, I will abdicate and depart into exile with my husband."

Elsa looked at her sister in astonishment. "You can't do that! How dare you?"

"Elsa you are forcing all of us to do what you think is the best. I know that you mean well, but in certain ways you are acting like Lord Halkett."

"You are insulting me!" Elsa exclaimed.

"It's the truth and I'm not going to allow you ..." Anna started to say, but she was interrupted by a knock in the door.

"Come in!" Elsa said almost shouting.

The door opened and Kai entered. "Queen Elsa, Princess Anna, the Imperial brigantine has returned. She is entering through the mouth of the fjord in this very moment."

Anna stood up with a broad smile on her face. "Great! Er.. I mean really?"

Elsa just looked at her seneschal, but her cheeks flushed.

"But this is not the important news. An hour ago, a courier ship arrived from the Southern Isles with a representative of their King. He delivered me few minutes a declaration of war upon Arendelle"

Both sister gazed at the seneschal in astonishment. "A declaration of war?" Anna said.

"This is impossible. The King of the Southern Isles is a prisoner on the English frigate in the fjord. Who sent that declaration?" Elsa asked.

Kai sighed. "There's a new King in the Southern Isles. The declaration is signed by King Hans of house Westergard."

* * *

NA: Hi everybody,

Come on Valanthe! Poor Adrian! He is just an Hungarian Landlord used to be obeyed. Although I have to recognize that if did that, Elsa would have many reasons to become a merry widow ;). Anyway, she will have problems enough with the gentleman named in the last phrase of today's chapter.

See you in Arendelle.


	56. War over Arendelle

Stephan again read the letter from his younger brother. It was, as Hans letters used to be, short and concise. When he finished, he raised his eyes from the sheet of paper and looked at the man who stood in front of him. He was an old and frail man who had served Stephan for a long time. He had remained in the Southern isles due to his poor health until Hans requested him to bring his elder brother the letter.

_Hans made an excellent choice. I wouldn't have trusted any other servant._ Stephan thought. When the representative from Westergard, the capital of the Southern Isles, had reached Arendelle, the first thing that he did was to meet with Stephan. But since he was a man from Count Valsrom s household, Stephan wouldn't have trusted him. The letter from Hans carried by a trusted servant had convinced him instead. He had left the castle in the afternoon and embarked with a few servants on the English frigate. Now they were in one of its cabins waiting for a meeting with Lord Halkett that would be the most important in his whole life.

"How many Counts gave support to Valsrom when he offered the crown to Hans?"

"I'm not sure. He prepared everything with great discretion. I know that three other counts went with him to the old seat of your house, where Prince Hans was held prisoner, and offered him their swords to protect the realm."

"What happened to the men who guarded Hans? They were supposed to kill him in a situation like that."

"With King Conrad being held prisoner by the English, everything was confused and uncertain. I suppose that they didn't wanted to confront four Counts to defend an already defeated faction."

"So Valsrom and his three puppets managed to make his dramatic gesture in front of Hans. It's funny taking into account that, according to my brother's letter he is supposed to be just a figurehead and the Count will control the country."

"That's what I thought, although your brother didn't tell me anything. He just ordered me to join the delegation which was about to depart to Arendelle and gave me the letter for you."

Stephan thought about Count Valsrom. He was a tall man with an imposing bearing who was used to saying whatever he thought about people, with a sincerity that he proudly considered equal to the capacity of being a smart judge of people's character. _Hans will use the first opportunity that comes to get rid of him. _Stephan thought.

"And how has the countryreacted? The other counts? The people?"

"The other Counts didn't love King Konrad nor you since you had been burdening them with duties and special contributions to sustain our diplomatic and military efforts. They sided with Valsrom. And regarding the people, King Konrad's detention was traumatic for them. They are used to believing that the Southern Isles is a powerful country. They were furious, confused and glad to give support a new King of the Westergard house."

"Leaving the previous King out. That fury you are talking about is what explains what happened yesterday?"

"Hans had just been crowned when the Imperial brigantine entered in the harbor. They decided that they couldn t pass up the opportunity to make contact with the Imperial diplomacy."

"The feeling was mutual. I have been told that some diplomats in that brigantine had been instructed to establish contact with the influential people of our capital, although they didn't expect to find a new King."

"The Imperials were invited to the celebration of Prince Hans' coronation."

"You can call him King. I fear that we must accept that fact and work from it. I would have preferred a less intelligent member of my family." Stephan remembered his childhood, when he had deliberately cultivated Konrad's hate against Hans. He had always feared the sharp mind of his younger brother and had always maneuvered to neutralize him. He sighed. "But one has to make the best of what one has."

The servant nodded. "The Imperials accepted the invitation to the celebration and a large group disembarked and went to the party in the castle. Everything went fine, but when the Imperials returned to their ship, the people exploded. They wanted to avenge King Konrad's humiliation."

"But there were only Imperials not Englishmen. They weren't involved in Konrad's detention."

"For a peasant, an Englishman and an Imperial are the same; foreigners. And I suspect that the high taxes they pay also influenced some of them to take advantage of the situation and just kill high born people." The servants eyes seemed for a second to look reproachfully at his master. He had served Stephan for many years, and at its due moment, had bitterly complained when Stephan had wildly raised the taxes.

Stephan nodded." And what exactly happened?"

"When they were crossing the fishing quarter, a petty incident with a carriage blocked the street was the detonator which started the fire. The crowd attacked the Imperials and they scattered in little groups. Some reached the protection of official buildings where they were protected by the Southern Isles soldiers. But a lot of them were killed with pitchforks, scythes, axes and other tools. They also killed the Arendelle ambassador, who was returning to his home."

"What a bloody disaster! Are you sure that neither my brother nor Valsrom were involved in that?"

"I don't think so. They just wanted to take control of the Kingdom and let your brother and you to rot in England."

"Considering it from that point of view, the death of the Imperials has been a stroke of luck." Stephan raised Hans' letter. "That letter never would have been written if the Imperials had safely reached their ship."

"I totally agree. What happened yesterday forced Hans and the Count to move quickly and declare war on Arendelle. I'm sure that they didn't want that war."

Stephan nodded. "I think the same. They would have been busy enough consolidating their power and trying to kill each other."

"Yes, but what happened was too serious."

"You can be sure. The death of almost forty Imperials can't be ignored. And among them was the second in the line of succession of an Imperial duchy. Hans' coronation was rather irregular and after that massacre all the major powers would have condemned them and our country punished by the Empire.

"Do you think that the declaration of war will save our homeland of such fate?"

"This is the task that our King assigns to me in his letter. I have to convince Lord Halkett to give us support."

"But England would never support us against Arendelle. They won't risk a war against the Empire for us."

"Not direct support. Hans' wants England to neutralize the Empire."

"Do you think it is possible?

"It's possible. The Empire will yearn for revenge but their power is weak in the North of Europe. If we could get the English to our side, the Empire would have to swallow its pride and accept our excuses." Stephan took another sheet of paper which was in front of him on a stool. It was a copy of the Southern isles declaration of war upon Arendelle.

He started to read a point of the paper. "Princess Anna trusted me as the safeguard of Arendelle while she departed to stop her sister's evil plans, but Queen Elsa, through sorcery turned her mind against me. Anna was controlled by her sister when she interjected herself between Elsa and my sword when I was trying to free Arendelle from the yoke of such evil witch. From now on I won't rest until the Queen has been deposed, Princess Anna freed from her control and Arendelle's freedom restored."

Stephan made a pause and raised his eyebrows looking at his servant before going on." It ends with a final offer. If Queen Elsa abdicated and left Arendelle, the declaration of war would be cancelled."

"Do you think the English are going to believe that?" The servant asked.

"Lord Halkett isn't a fool! But the point isn't will the English believe it. It is a direct offer to Halkett and hopefully his hate for the Snow Queen will be strong enough and he will accept to being embroiled in this messy affair." Stephan said.

"And what will happen if he doesn't accept?"

Stephan shrugged. "We are between a rock and a hard place."

At that moment Allan Halkett knocked at the door. "Lord Howard Halkett will receive you now." He said with cold voice.

Stephan eyes met with his servant's while he raised to follow Allan.

* * *

"As you see, it is his uniform." The Imperial captain said holding the cover of the coffin.

Anna, who was on the other side of the coffin, looked at the figure inside. It was a short, slender man clad in the remains of a black Imperial hussar uniform. The face and almost the entire body was burned and the corpse was a black mass of burned flesh. The shako wore a silver death head and its melted expression seemed to teasingly smile at Arendelle's Princess.

Elsa, who was behind Anna, gasped and swayed as if she was about to fall. Anna quickly held her elder sister's arm. Elsa's eyes were wide open, but Anna noticed that they weren t focused.

They had gone down to the crypt of the castle from the Council room after listening to Rollo's explanation about what happened the night before in Westergard, the capital of the Southern Isles. Rollo, the Genoese bald Captain of the Imperial brigantine, had told them how the crowd had suddenly attacked the Imperials due to a petty incident and massacred them. He was in one of the groups which had taken shelter in the building of the harbor master's office and had been protected by the soldiers of the Southern Isles' army who were inside.

"I told you that this visit was useless and inappropriate." Duke Simonyi, who stood with Ladislas and Duke Berganza behind Rollo, said looking with disdain at Elsa. The Duke was obviously displeased by what he considered a sign of weakness of his future wife.

Anna noticed a brief gleam of fury in Rollo's eyes. The Captain of the Imperial brigantine put the cover in its place hiding the deformed body and looked with sympathy at both sisters. "I'm sorry, but I warned you that it would be unpleasant."

When Rollo had confirmed that Erick was one of the deaths, Anna had asked to go down to the crypt to see him. She couldn't believe that the young and daring hussar was dead. Duke Simonyi had opposed what he considered an unpleasant and useless activity on the basis that they had a lot of things to care about. He was obviously unaffected by his stepbrother's death.

But Elsa had expressed her desire to go with her sister to give her support in that hard moment, since Anna and Captain Simonyi were close friends. Anna guessed that she also wanted to see the corpse, but it would had been dangerous to seem too interested.

"He could be Erick or any other person who wasn't very tall and slender." Anna said, although she didn't know if she was trying to convince the Captain, Elsa or herself.

"Your affection for Erick is moving, but believe me, I talked with a soldier who saw him falling from the window of a building ablaze, and the day after the massacre, I and other Imperial leaders went through the streets of Westergard calling loudly our comrades. Some Imperials who had hidden in private houses appeared then. If Erick had been alive, he would have come."

"Maybe he was alive, but feared a trap." Anna replied.

The Captain slowly shook his head. "I knew him from his childhood. My older son and he played in the streets of Genoa when Erick's father visited the city, and I headed the group that searched the survivors. He would have trusted me." The man warmly looked at the young Princess. "I assure you that I left no stone unturned searching him. He is dead."

The Imperial Captain said the last words with a sadness in his voice and eyes that hit the Arendelle's Princess like a blow in the chest. She felt a tear sliding down her cheek and Elsa's body trembling at her side.

Anna realized that although her sister was concealing her feelings, she wouldn't bear it for a long time. Elsa had gone with her to the crypt of the castle to officially give her support to her younger sister, but Anna knew who was really giving support and who was suffering the worse.

"I will retire to my rooms. Elsa, could you come with me?" Anna said.

Elsa just nodded, and began to follow her sister to the stairs, but Ladislas approached them. "Queen Elsa may I ask your permission to bury our dead tomorrow in an official ceremony? I would like to leave them rest in Arendelle's soil as a symbol of our mutual friendship and support in hard times."

The Queen of Arendelle nodded. "Kai will take care of the details."

"Thank you Queen Elsa." Ladislas said before turning to talk with Adrian. "My dear Duke, I hope you don't mind burying your brother in Arendelle instead of the Simonyi's mausoleum in Hungary.

The Duke gave a nonchalant shrug. "You can do whatever you want."

Ladislas quickly turned again towards Elsa. "We have to talk about our joint reply to the declaration of war."

Elsa gave a last glance to the coffin in the middle of the crypt. "After the funerals." She just said before following her sister upwards.

Kay and Kristoff followed both sisters and left the Imperials alone in the crypt. Ladislas turned to face both Dukes. "We have to prepare the Imperial reaction to the Southern Isles declaration of war upon Arendelle. Captain, are you sure that the attack against our comrades wasn't instigated by the rulers of the Kingdom."

Rollo seemed upset by the sudden interest of the diplomat. "The soldiers who protected us seemed genuinely surprised."

"If I had prepared such attack, I wouldn't have explained the details to the soldiers." Berganza said with cold voice, a lot of Italian Imperials belonging to his personal retinue had been killed in the attack.

"You are right Duke Berganza." Ladislas replied. "Captain, be discreet about this issue. In fact don't talk about it unless I give you permission to do so. May I count on you?"

"Of course." The Imperial Captain answered.

Ladislas smiled. "Thank you Captain. Now, please, leave us alone."

Once Rollo had left the room the Imperial diplomat went on. "Arendelle will need our help to survive King Hans' attack. The Southern Isles is a little Kingdom but far greater than Arendelle and his army ten times greater. This gives us an opportunity to force Queen Elsa to accept the Imperial control."

"Will the English allow an Imperial expedition in Scandinavia?" Berganza asked. His usual

indifferent tone of voice had disappeared.

"We must use more subtle methods, but I won't accept any weakening of the Imperial prerogatives." Ladislas replied. "Our dead require that of us! Isn't that right Duke Berganza?"

Berganza winced. "My personal secretary, a close friend from my childhood, was killed by the mob, but my personal losses aren't important when we are talking about preserving the prestige of the Empire."

Ladislas nodded and turned to face Adrian. "My dear Duke. I admire your self-control, but you don't have to hide your grief for your brother. Somebody could think that you don't lament his loss."

"And they wouldn t be wrong. My stepbrother was a shame to my family." Adrian replied emphasizing the word 'stepbrother'.

Ladislas sighed. "What you feel isn't my concern. But we would present a better case in front of the other diplomats, if you were grieving for the loss of a beloved brother instead of a despised stepbrother."

* * *

"And what are the intentions of your brother with this stupid war upon Arendelle?" Lord Howart Halkett said looking with disdain at Stephan.

They were in the Captain's cabin on the frigate. Lord Halkett was seated at the desk of the Captain and behind him stood his nephew, Allan Halkett. In front of them, Stephan of the Southern Isles had finished his long explanation justifying that neither his brother nor any member of his government was involved in the tragic events of the past night and the rightness of the war against Arendelle.

The diplomat from the Southern Isles knew that he was sitting in the same place where his brother had been seated a few days ago and also knew that his position wasn't much better. One wrong word and he could end up confined in a cabin next to Konrad's.

"He wants to free Arendelle and Princess Anna of Elsa's control." Stephan formally replied trying to get time to think.

"I have already read that damned declaration of war!" Lord Halkett exclaimed. "I want to know what he really expects to get."

_Survival,_ Stephan thought, but he refrained from being so sincere and decided to explain the conditions suggested by Hans in his letter. _First the bait. _"Queen Elsa must be deposed from the throne of Arendelle. We hope to do it without harming her, but she is a danger to everybody."

"And how are you going to do that?"

"If the Queen doesn t concede to abdicate, we would attack Arendelle with our army and take the castle if it was necessary."

"And what would happen after that?"

"My brother will claim Princess Anna's hand." Stephan decided that being sincere in that point would be better.

"Who will be the new Queen of Arendelle. And do you believe that the Empire will accept that?" The Englishman said with sarcasm.

"The Empire is powerful, but it is far away. The nearest Imperial outpost is in Bohemia, more than one thousand kilometers away. England, on the other hand, is at the other side of the North Sea." Stephan replied.

Lord Halkett laughed, but he shook his head. "I can't allow a war between England's allies. We are obliged to enforce peace in Norway. I'm going to send an official communiqué to both countries asking them to stop any preparation for war."

Stephan felt that his heart sink and looked in dismay as Lord Howart wrote both official letters. When he finished the Englishman handed one of them to his nephew. "Allan, this letter must be delivered to the Queen's seneschal as soon as possible."

Allan took the letter. "An English merchant ship is about to leave from Arendelle. Do you want me to send one of my men with them? They would stop in the Southern isles and deliver the letter to the new King tomorrow evening."

Lord Halkett slowly shook his head. "This is an official letter and must be sent on a royal courier ship. Ask the captain of the merchant to communicate in London our necessity. They will send us a courier ship and it will deliver the letter."

"But Uncle Howart, it will take more than two weeks to..." Allan stopped talking when His uncle turned his head and looked at him raising his eyebrows. "I'm sorry uncle. I will send one of my officers to deliver the letter to the seneschal." The Captain finally said.

"And send another one to tell Friedrich von Schrader that I would be much obliged to him if he could come immediately to the frigate." His uncle added.

Allan nodded and left the cabin.

Lord Halkett smiled to Stephan. "Do you want to dine with me? I think that you should remain in the frigate for your own safety." He said as he rose, leaving the letter for the Southern Isles' King on the desk.

Stephan sighed in relief inwardly. _We have an opportunity. _He thought rising from the chair and following Lord Halkett. _Now we only have to kill Elsa of Arendelle and take control of the country as soon as possible._


	57. The Right Decision

"Put her on the bed and call Gudvard." Anna said watching how Kristoff delicately left her sister on her bed.

Kristoff left Elsa's bedroom to fetch the doctor and Anna sat by her sister and embraced her. They had been on their way to the bedroom when Elsa had suddenly fainted. Anna had barely been able to catch her sister before she hit the floor.

The Queen seemed feverish and muttered in a very low voice. Anna leaned in to hear what she was saying. "It was my fault." The Queen said.

"Elsa, that's not true. He would have had to leave on that ship no matter what you told him." Anna said with soft voice. She had to repeat it several times until her sister seemed to hear her.

Elsa opened her eyes and looked at her sister. "You don't understand. He left after I rejected him like a dog."

"But he would have been on that ship anyway."

"I should have done something. It's my fault" Elsa replied closing her eyes and curling up in Anna's arms.

Anna sighed and started to gently rock her elder sister. Suddenly, she realized that she could see her breath. Elsa's bedroom was frozen with ice. Snowflakes hung in the air, which was as cold and clear as on the top of a snow covered mountain.

Anna shivered. The Princess was wearing only a thin dress and she could feel the bite of the cold, although it wasn't an ordinary cold. She could feel how it penetrated inside her, freezing her soul and stunning her.

At that moment Gudvard entered the room. Anna noticed that Kai and Rolf were waiting outside with Kristoff. The doctor was initially taken aback by the intense cold, but when he saw the Queen, he approached the bed and without a word started to examine her.

Finally he took a bottle from his bag and poured some drops in a spoon. With Anna's help, he forced the half-conscious Elsa to take it. In a few minutes Elsa seemed to relax and fell deeply asleep.

"What happened to her?" Anna asked in low voice.

"She is exhausted. She has been overworked from the last few weeks, and she didn't stop when she was wounded." The doctor shook his head. "The news that a war will spoil all her sacrifices and effort was probably too much. Truth to be told I'm surprised that she didn't collapsed before."

"What have you given her?" Anna asked.

"Laudanum (*). She needs to rest. She will sleep for more than ten hours." Gudvard replied. "You can go to your bedroom and rest."

"I prefer to stay by my sister."

When Gudvard left the room, Kristoff entered immediately. "Anna they want to talk with you. It's important." The mountain man seemed worried.

After giving a last gaze to her sister, who was placidly sleeping, Anna got up from the bed and went out of the room. Outside, Rolf and Kai were talking with Gudvard.

"I repeat that nobody will talk with the Queen. She won't wake up in ten hours." The royal doctor said crossing his arms and standing in front of the door as if he intended to physically block the path to the Queen's seneschal and the commander of Arendelle's army.

Kai turned his face towards Rolf. "Then we will have to wait until our Queen wakes up."

"Come on!" Rolf replied. "Waiting is same as making a decision and you know it."

"My sister won't be disturbed" Anna said. "Why do you want to talk with her?

"Anna is Arendelle's crowned regent. If the Queen isn't available she can decide." Rolf said looking at the seneschal.

Kai looked at Anna confused. "Queen Elsa isn't out of Arendelle. I don't know if this is right."

"You are trying to impose your opinion and keep our men in the barracks!" Rolf exclaimed.

"And what are you trying to do instead?" Kai replied. "You think Anna will support you."

"Could you explain to me what's happening?" Anna calmly said looking Kai straight in the eye. "I think that my sister gave clear orders before the meeting with the Imperials. Arendelle's army must mobilize immediately. There isn't a minute to lose."

"You are right. But I have received a formal request from Lord Halkett. He offers England's intermediation in the conflict."

"He can shove England's intermediation right up his…" Rolf started to said but was interrupted by Kai.

"He wants to avoid bloodshed and asks us to stop all the preparations for war. According to his letter, he will send the same request to the Southern Isles."

"Do you trust him?" The Commander of the army asked.

"The question isn't about trusting him. If we started to mobilize our army, it would be like a slap in England's face." Kai replied.

"The garrison in the southern passes can't hold their position against the entire army of the Southern Isles forever."

"Stop!" Anna exclaimed. "This is not the place to talk about such issues." Both men stopped talking and looked in embarrassment at the Princess. Anna purposefully strode between them. "Let's go somewhere else to talk about this." The Princess said not daring to look behind to check if they followed her.

* * *

They were in the council room listening to Rolf''s explanations. There was a map of southern Norway stretched over the table displaying the territories of Arendelle and the Southern Isles. _Arendelle is so small compared with Hans' kingdom._ Anna thought. Both countries were connected by a long road which was named the Westergard road, although road wasn't the appropriate name for a group of narrow mountain paths which connected one valley with the next.

Anna knew that their enemies didn't have enough ships to transport a great enough force to take Arendelle. So they will attack using that road.

"Our forces are scattered in the different fjords that form Arendelle. Only half of our soldiers are based in Arendelle, the rest are distributed among the Baron's fjords." Rolf was explaining.

Anna looked at the map and saw the four little fjords, two to the south and two to the north, which were the seats of Arendelle's Barons. All were isolated by high mountains except one to the south which had a road that connected it with a high plateau and the main road.

"To gather our army, all the Barons but Herolf must gather their men and bring them to Arendelle and they will need six days to do that."

"Don't we have the ships to get them here faster?" Kai asked Mark who had been called to inform about the available ships.

The young Captain shook his head. "The declaration of war was an absolute surprise. Most of our ships are trading in other countries. Even borrowing the ships from friendly nations which are in our harbor, we will have to make several trips to move all the soldiers and their equipment."

Rolf went on with his explanation. "Once we have assembled the forces in Arendelle, we could move. But our plans about dealing with a war against the Southern Isles is dependent on our garrison in the southern passes. They have to hold back the enemy army until we join them."

Anna looked at the point in the road between Arendelle and the Southern isles. Anna had visited that area with Kristoff and Elsa. The mountains were especially high and there was just a narrow valley that allowed movement to the north. "We've spent a lot of time and resources preparing this eventuality since neither Elsa nor I trusted the Southern Isles' King."

Rolf nodded before going on. "Once all our men are ready in Arendelle we could proceed towards the south, but we will need five days to reach the southern passes. That means that from the moment we issue the orders to our units, we will need eleven days before we can help our garrison."

"The Southern Isles army isn't as scattered, and most of their units will join the main army while marching through their country. So they will need only six days to reach the Southern passes. But we have to assume that they have already begun their mobilization. So we don't have a minute to lose. We must start to mobilize our army right now!"

"How long can our garrison hold off Hans' army?" Kai asked.

"Just a few days." Rolf replied.

"But your uncle said that he could stand a week against the Southern Isles army." Kai stated.

"Nelberg has limited forces and he was talking about the best case scenario, but war is unpredictable. We can't risk Arendelle's security."

Kai cleared his throat. "We are talking about defying England. It is also a risk!" He said as he leaned forward and pointed at one of the southern fjords in the map. His finger moved along the thin line that connected it with the Westergard road. The line joined with the thicker line of the main road at the north of the southern passes but very close to it. "Herolf doesn't need to move his troops to Arendelle. He could reinforce the garrison through the paths and he doesn't need as much time since that road was improved by our engineers with the help of our Queen.

Roof nodded. "You are right. But even with the improvement made by our Queen's powers they will need six or seven days to join with our men in the south. And he doesn't have enough troops to appropriately reinforce the garrison."

"His fjord is the greatest one after Arendelle's and he has more troops than any other Baron."

"Yes. He has a fifth of Arendelle's army under his command. But this is not enough to stop Hans' army."

"But he could delay them until the army arrives. That will allow us to postpone the mobilization and reinforce the garrison in time."

Rolf shook his head. "The enemy army would be four times greater than ours. If we confront them piecemeal we are doomed."

"Princess Anna." Kai said. "I understand the gravity of Rolf's arguments, but ignoring England's request will turn the only power which could stop that war against us. We have to take the risk and accept that Nelberg and Herolf will be able to stop the enemy until we can help them."

"Are you going to take such a risk to not offend Lord Halkett? Do you think that he will care for Arendelle? He would desert us, if Hans' army besieged the castle!" Rolf seemed about to explode.

Kai stayed calm, but his voice slightly trembled. "That request implies a formal compromise from England to enforce peace. If Lord Halkett deserted us, it would mean a loss of prestige for England."

"If we are dead, nobody will care for us." Rolf replied. "But whatever we decide, we have to decide quickly. It will begin to get light in an hour. Then we have to send the messages to the four fjords and start our own preparations, or wait and hope that the Southern Isles will accept the English request."

Anna looked with simulated calm at Roof and Kai. She knew that she had to take the decision, but she hadn't the slightest idea about what was the right option. Arendelle's crowned regent couldn't help gulping.

* * *

The portraits room was dark. The only light was a candle on the floor which illuminated a little couch under the portrait of Joan of Arc and Anna who was seated on it, her chin in her hands and her elbows on her knees.

The Princess of Arendelle had asked for time to think, and she had gone the place she always went to be alone since her childhood.

Anna didn't trust Lord Halkett and she wanted to just ignore the Englishman's request and prepare to defend Arendelle. The possibility that Elsa could negotiate again with him was utterly unacceptable to her. The mere idea of Elsa giving another bit of her soul to placate Arendelle's enemies was unbearable.

But when Mark had talked during the meeting, Anna had realized that he would take part in the war. _And he could die._ She thought

During their childhood, both sisters had played with him a lot of times before the accident which had forced the King to close the castle. Anna was only too aware that a lot of young men from Arendelle would die, if she decided to go to war.

_I don't have the right to send them to a war. Even if that means that my sister must deal with Lord Halkett_. Anna thought feeling her heart tearing apart. She felt that was sending her sister to the slaughter.

In that moment the door opened and Kristoff came into the room.

"It's time?" Anna said looking at the window. It was still dark, but the dawn was close.

"No, although Rolf has given permission to write the mobilization orders. He doesn't want to lose a minute. Kurt von Schrader wants to talk with you."

"Kurt? What does he want?"

Kristoff shrugged. "I don't know. He says that it is important and asked me not to talk with anybody but you about it. It seems important."

Anna nodded. "Let him in."

Kristoff went out of the room to fetch the young Prussian. A few minutes later Kurt entered. He had a strange expression in his face as if he was doing something against his will.

"Anna." He said when had got close to Anna.

"Did you want to talk with me?"

The man nodded but he didn't say anything.

"And?" Anna asked.

The Prussian took a deep breath and started to talk. "I have come to warn you about the request of the English. It is a trap. No request will be sent to the Southern Isles."

Anna looked in surprise at Kurt. "What are you talking about?"

"My uncle" Kurt stopped talking, but after a brief hesitation he went on. "Lord Halkett had entrusted him with the mission to appease the Empire when the Southern Isles army attacks Arendelle. He must use his contacts to negotiate a compensation with the Empire to stay at the edge."

Anna gaped in disbelief at Kurt.

"Lord Halkett expects the Southern Isles' army to attack Arendelle and he had sent that letter to hamper the mobilization of your army. It's the only option that adds up with the mission assigned to my uncle."

Anna remembered Kai's words about England's compromise. "But the request is an implicit recognition of England's compromise with the security of Arendelle. Is Lord Halkett is going to accept such a public humiliation for England's diplomacy?"

"He will accept that and more to get rid of your sister."

"Does he hate her that much?"

Kurt shook his head. "According to my uncle, and he is a clever judge of such issues, he is not driven by hate, although he really hates your sister. He is driven by fear. He fears Elsa."

"Why? She will marry and leave Arendelle. That is what he wanted since the beginning of the conference." Anna asked.

"At the beginning of the conference, he was afraid of what a major power could do with Elsa. Now he fears what Elsa could do with a major power."

"She didn't want to marry the Imperial Duke!"

"Nor did Lord Halkett. Elsa is beautiful and bright in a year she could be the mistress of the Emperor and from that position with her intelligence and her powers anything would be possible."

"My sister only wants to live in peace here in Arendelle. She wouldn't do something like that."

"Lord Halkett won't understand it. He would do it without hesitation if he was in your sister's position, and he will never believe that your sister would decline to act in the same way based on moral grounds. He can't trust England's security to you sister's goodwill."

"So we are again in a chess game and everybody must make the movements they will."

"Yes." The Prussian replied with sad voice.

Anna closed her eyes and leaned back on the coach, her face pale like a sheet of paper. "Then there is no other way than war." She muttered.

"Do you really believe that you can win it?" Kurt asked.

"According to Rolf and his uncle, we have a chance."

Kurt raised his eyebrows as if he wasn't entirely convinced. "The Southern Isles' army is far more powerful than Arendelle's. Do you really believe that?"

"Do we have any other option?" Anna asked with a sad smile on her face.

"Elsa is adept in diplomacy. Maybe she could get a compromise with the English before Hans reached Arendelle. Without England's cover, the Southern army would retreat immediately"

Anna shook her head. "What kind of pact would she obtain from a man who fears and hates her at the same time? What security would Arendelle or my sister have? Would you trust a man like him?"

"In diplomacy, interest instead of trust is the key word and I have seen my uncle negotiating with far less trustworthy people than Lord Halkett."

At that moment somebody knocked at the door and Anna realized that the first light of dawn was visible through the windows. _We can't trust anybody. _Anna thought. Then, driven by a sudden inspiration, Anna looked fixedly at Kurt. "Why are you telling me this? Your uncle is allied with Lord Halkett."

Kurt smiled. "You are starting to think in the right way. I can't give you any valid reason. You just will have to decide if you trust me or not."

"Is it as easy as that?"

Kurt slowly shook his head. "It is not easy at all. My brother taught me to call a spade a spade. I have betrayed the confidence of the man who took my brother and me in when our father died, and also my brother's confidence, who explained my uncle's deductions about Lord Halkett to me."

Anna was taken aback by Kurt's anguish. "Then why did you tell me that if it has been so difficult for you?" Anna asked.

Kurt shrugged. "Maybe because Lord Halkett always calls your sister the Snow Witch, and we monsters should stick together. I can't give you a better reason. I fear that you must decide by yourself if you trust me or not." Saying that, the young Prussian formally nodded and left the room.

Once Kurt left the room Anna remained in the portraits rooms with Kristoff, who had been the one who knocked at the door and had entered after Kurt went out.

"Did you make up your mind?" Kristoff said seating by Anna and holding her hand.

Anna just nodded as she held Kristoff's hand and pressed it against her breast.

"I'm sure that you make the right decision." The mountain man said trying to reassure her.

But Anna couldn't help thinking in the people who could die depending on her decision. She couldn't get Mark's face out of her mind. "There's no right decision, and I'm not sure if I will be able to forgive myself for what I'm going to do. I'm not sure if I'm trusting Kurt because it means choosing the option that I want."

Kristoff looked at the unusually worried expression on Anna's face. "Whatever happens, I will be at your side."

Anna smiled and got up. "Let's go to talk with them. Rolf will have a lot of orders to issue." Then the Princess noticed that Kristoff wore his fur jacket hanging from his arm. "Are you going somewhere?" The Princess asked in surprise since the jacket was too thick even with the cold winds raised over Arendelle by her sister.

"I thought that you could use it. After talking with Rolf and Kai, you'll probably return to your sister's side and you don't need to catch a cold now."

Anna couldn't help laughing at Kristoff's words and, after kissing him, left the room to meet the seneschal and the commander.

* **Laudanum** is a tincture of opium containing approximately 10% powdered opium by weight (the equivalent of 1% morphine). By the 19th century, laudanum was used in many patent medicines to "relieve pain ... to produce sleep ...


	58. Funerals

"It was an embarrassing situation. I am referring, of course, to Duke's Adrian comment." Lord Halkett said when he approached Clarence and Ebbe, Arendelle's Northern Barons. They were in a street of Arendelle which led towards the harbor. Both came from the funeral and Lord Halkett had caught up with them.

The fat Ebbe seemed upset by the sudden appearance, but the Englishman went on as if he hadn't noticed it. "Whatever his brother had done before, this wasn't the time nor place to talk about it. Don't you think?" Lord Howart Halkett asked.

"Yes. A funeral is no place to speak about such things." Clarence replied.

"Especially when they are talking about a weakness so common among soldiers. Who cares what happened to that Lithuanian woman? They were at war, and during a war things like this just happen." The Englishman replied in a nonchalant tone of voice. "Are you going to leave and start the trip to your fjords?" He asked.

"Yes. Early in the morning. The courier ship left with the mobilization orders, but we are needed to organize the transport."

Lord Halkett nodded. "Of course. Kai was so kind to officially notify me that Arendelle will mobilize its army only for defensive purposes."

"I hope that it didn't upset you." Clarence asked.

"Of course not. Arendelle has the right to defend itself in any way that Queen Elsa considers appropriate. I'm sorry only because that means that England couldn't stop that war. We can't avoid the Southern Isles mobilization if Arendelle has its army ready. But we are going to ensure that nobody will intervene against Arendelle."

Clarence stiffened. "What do you mean?"

"England will request to all the nations in the conference to make a declaration of neutrality. Nobody will interfere in what is an internal Norwegian affair until we meet a satisfactory arrangement for both sides."

"Would the Empire be included in that declaration?"

"Hopefully they will join us; with the Empire at our side nobody will dare to do anything and we could work to find a solution." Lord Halkett replied.

Both Barons looked at the English diplomat. Both knew that it meant carte blanche for the Southern Isles.

"May I go with you to the piers?" Lord Halkett gleefully asked breaking the silence.

"Of course." Clarence quickly replied as they started to walk along the street which led to Arendelle s docks.

"Thank you. I don't want to delay you. It would be a pity if there was any reason you couldn't send your troops to Arendelle on time. It would delay the mobilization of your army." Lord Halkett said in an unconcerned tone of voice, but something in the way he looked at Clarence put both Barons on their guard.

Clarence and Ebbe eyes met before the former replied. "It would be a pity, but luckily it is not possible. A third of our forces are royal soldiers and their captain is an able man who wouldn't allow any delay in the transfer of all our soldiers to Arendelle."

Lord Halkett nodded. "Yes, but imagine that you send those royal soldiers with that responsible Captain in the first wave. The soldiers in that follow would be soldiers from your fjords."

"All are soldiers of Arendelle." Ebbe said.

"Yes but some sections are mainly formed by soldiers from your fjords and would accept your orders without question. Orders that I'm sure that will ensure their mobilization, since it would be a pity if those units were delayed and couldn't join with the main army."

Both cousins looked again at each other until Clarence sighed. "You are right. It would be a pity." The Baron emphasized the word "would".

"I'm happy to see that we agree in that." Lord Halkett said with a faint smile on his face. "I don't want to take more of your time. You will be very busy." The English diplomat left both Barons alone in the middle of the narrow street.

Clarence took a deep breath. "I told you that it could happen. I don't want to be stuck between England and the Empire."

"It seems that the Empire will be out of this war."

"Let's make sure that they will remain out of Arendelle after the war. Has your man started to administer the poison to the Queen?"

Ebbe nodded. "Yesterday, Elsa's supper was poisoned and also today s dinner. Didn't you notice that she seemed paler than usual? Everybody thought that she was affected by the news of the war, but I'm sure that the poison is slowly doing its work. Shall he give her a lethal dose?"

Clarence shook his head. "No. It could raise suspicions. Go on with little doses, but tell our man he must administer her a lethal dose if any battle between Arendelle and Westergard is about to start."

"Why?"

"Elsa and her powers are too dangerous and I want to be sure that she doesn't survive after we betray her."

"And why do you want to wait for a battle?"

"I want to take as long as possible to avoid being discovered, but a battle between Arendelle and the Southern Isles could be a disaster for Arendelle. After such a defeat, she would leave the Kingdom and we would lose the opportunity to poison her food."

Both Barons reached the harbor and went towards the boat which would take them to the Arendelle ship which was expecting them.

* * *

"Why are we here?" Steponas grunted while they walked along the narrow path which went through the trees.

"I want to give my respects. I didn t like the ceremony and I think he deserves something better." Antanas replied. They reached a little clearing in the middle of the trees occupied by a group of fresh graves. "Don't you want to do the same?"

"I would only piss on his grave. I'm not sure if that would be considered equivalent to my respects."

Antanas stopped in front of a gravestone which was separate from the rest of the group. "I suppose that you have enough reasons to hate him, but I would prefer that you restrain yourself."

Steponas shrugged. "Anyway, I don't believe that he is buried here."

"Are you still on that?"

"If he was really dead I would have felt it."

Antanas shook his head and examined the gravestone in front of him. It was a great stone slab carved with text in German and Norwegian. "Captain Erick Simonyi of the 13th of Imperial hussars. Dead for his emperor and Arendelle." The young Lithuanian read.

Steponas wryly laughed. "Do you think that the black wolf or any of the others buried here could care less for Arendelle?"

"Ladislas wanted to use the ceremony to create a link between the Empire and Arendelle. His speech was really emotive, although I doubt that he convinced anybody."

"It was difficult since Duke Simonyi spoiled the effect with his comment."

"Maybe that was Corrado's intention when he addressed the Duke."

"Then he achieved his goal. The Duke spoke a lot."

"The Duke is a bastard. You know who the Lithuanian woman he was talking about really was. I wanted so badly to tell him the truth and shut his mouth."

"If you had said the truth, you would have spoiled Erick Simonyi's reputation in front of the Imperials. Never mind that you would have fought with the Duke in front of everybody." Steponas shook his head. "The Italian already did it for you. And he did it very well; he only said a few words, but seeing Adrian's reaction they hit the nail on the head."

At that moment they heard noises. The tombs of the Imperials were in a little space apart of the rest of Arendelle s cemetery in the middle of a thicket of birches. A narrow path led to them and somebody was coming.

"Let's hide among the trees." Antanas said.

Steponas frowned. "Why? We aren't doing anything wrong."

"They could be Imperials and they could misunderstand our presence among their dead." Antanas replied dragging his companion among the trees.

"Maybe it is the wolf's brother. I would regret if he pissed on his grave before me." Steponas teasingly said as he hid behind the bushes.

Anna and Elsa appeared in the path. _Anna also wants to give her last respects to her friend and Elsa would of course accompany her younger sister._ Antanas said inwardly.

He noticed a mocking smile on Steponas face and the young Lithuanian wanted to sneak through the trees and leave both sisters alone, but the bushes were thick and dry. It would had been difficult to move through them without being noticed.

"But why would he said that about his own brother if he wasn't sure?" Anna asked her sister.

"Adrian's insinuations were just what he would have done if he had been in Erick's place." Elsa vehemently replied.

Both men behind the bushes watched the couple in front of the tomb. Even at that distance the long scar on Elsa's face was clearly visible. Seeing the young Queen, Antanas couldn't help being moved and took a deep breath. Although they were at some distance, he noticed that the Queen of Arendelle seemed sadder than her sister. In fact Elsa seemed to barely control her feelings as they approached Erick's grave.

When they reached it Elsa touched the top of the slab. It was just a light brush, but Antanas noticed something special. It seemed like she was caressing somebody. Even Steponas realized that and stopped smiling.

Elsa let out a deep sigh. "I needed all of my willpower to reject him. I even hurt him to ensure that he would never forgive me. And now he is dead and all our suffering has been useless."

Anna put her hands over Elsa's shoulders. "You told him you love him. That's important."

Elsa shrugged. "I was ready to bear my life with the Duke because I thought that he would be safe and free, but now everything seems pointless." Elsa replied. "I miss him so much. I miss his sincerity. I miss the way he ignored my arguments when I told him that our love was impossible. I miss touching him and been touched."

"Maybe he's still alive. I'm not convinced that the body we buried here is Erick's." Anna said.

"Then why hasn't he appeared since massacre? The imperials searched the entire city."

"I can't believe..."

"Please, don't go on." Elsa interrupted as she knelt in front of the tombstone. She dug her fingers in the recently moved soil over the tomb as if she wanted to touch the buried body. "You ll make it worse." She sobbed.

Anna knelt by her sister and embraced her. The sisters remained in silence for a long time until they heard voices coming from the path. Both got to their feet and Elsa nervously cleaned her fingers and tried to conceal that she had been crying.

Corrado appeared on the path with Rollo, the Imperial Captain, at his side. They spoke in Italian and Rollo seemed to criticize something Corrado said. When they saw both sisters, the two Italians stopped talking and bowed.

"We didn't know that you were here." Rollo said. "We will leave you alone."

"Don't worry." Elsa replied. "We have to leave. We must meet with Ladislas, the Imperial delegate."

"I'm sorry for what happened during the funeral. I know that I should have held my tongue, but I couldn't help it."

"Don't worry Corrado." Elsa replied. "Although I hope that you will stay away from Duke Simonyi from now on."

Corrado nodded and lowered his eyes.

"As I was saying before, Duke Simonyi is a dangerous enemy. Why did you speak to him in such a way?" Rollo said.

Corrado quickly raised his eyes and looked at the Genoese Captain. "Erick was his brother. Although they hated each other, his disdainful demeanor wasn't appropriate."

The Captain slowly shook his head. "Erick wouldn't have given a fig for his stepbrother's demeanor, and you could get into trouble."

"I just said that his attitude improper. Even more so if we take into account that his brother had been a noble soldier."

"You weren't especially delicate when he replied." Rollo laughed.

"He said that Erick was only his stepbrother and I only agreed with him."

"Well, you agreed saying that it was obvious that a man like Erick couldn't had been raised by the same family than him. Nobody interpreted that as a praise to the Duke's family."

"He disgraced himself when he told that filthy story about Erick."

Rollo nodded. "You are right, but you provoked him. He is a Hungarian Landlord and is used to be instantly obeyed; not to hear praises of a despised stepbrother."

"He will have to wait a long time for me to obey him. I already clashed with him in the Plains when I was an engineer of the Imperial army under his command."

"Were in the Plains with Erick?" Anna interrupted suddenly. "Then you can tell us if what Adrian said was true."

"It is a long story and you have to return to the castle." Corrado replied.

"Then you can explain it while we accompany these ladies back." Rollo said.

"We had come to give our respects to Erick." Corrado replied obviously upset.

"Unfortunately, he isn t going anywhere and I'm also very interested to know what happened that day in the Plains." Rollo stated.

Corrado looked at Anna for a long while before nodding. The group began to walk towards the path while Corrado began his explanation. "I had heard that story before. It happened after the final defeat of the Lithuanian army in the Plains.

"Was it the day when the heir to the throne of Lithuania was surrounded and killed in the battlefield and his army started the long retreat to Lithuania?" Rollo asked.

"Yes. Erick and King Vladimiras tried to kill each other for three weeks. "Corrado replied. "After the battle, the Lithuanian encampment was sacked by the Imperial troops." The old Italian stopped his explanation.

"And?" Anna asked. Elsa at her side remained silent but avidly listened at Corrado.

"I was told that a group of hussars saw Erick leaving the encampment. He held an unconscious woman over his saddle. She was stretched over the saddle her head hanging at one side of the horse and her legs at the other. Nobody saw that woman again."

"Do you believe the person who told this story?" Rollo asked.

"I didn't believe him. Although many women were raped in the sacking of the encampment, nobody dared to show their trophies with such insolence."

"You are suggesting that Captain Simonyi would have taken that woman out of the encampment to rape her. The same idea suggested by Duke Adrian when he explained this during the funeral, but it seems that nobody saw what happened out of the encampment. Maybe he wanted to save her from being raped." Elsa pointed with calm voice.

"Maybe." Corrado replied. "But nobody heard of her later. I asked Erick what had happened that day and he, after confirming the words of the hussars who had seen him with the woman on his saddle, said that he wouldn't explain anything more about that."

The four remained in a strained silent for a long time until Rollo broke it. "War always shows the worst part of people, seldom the best."

"He didn't explain what happened. That doesn't confirm anything!" Corrado exclaimed.

"Are you suggesting that Erick did that? That means accepting Adrian's allusions as a proof!" Anna also exclaimed, but Elsa remained silent with a worried expression on her face. It was easy to see that Corrado's last words had affected her.

"I'm saying that he was a young man in a hard place. The Imperial army was about to be defeated that day, and only luck and the ability of Erick's Colonel saved the day. When people are about to die, they do things that wouldn't do in other circumstances."

The sisters and both Italians had already reached the path and they disappeared behind a bend.

Antanas and Steponas left their hiding place behind the bushes. "You have a competitor for the Queen's heart."

Antanas who was still bewildered by the unexpected revelation approached to Erick's grave. "He is dead."

"Sometimes they are worse than the living ones."

Antanas put his hand on the tombstone, in the same point where Elsa had touched it. Somehow he had the strange sensation that he was touching Elsa's hand. "It's funny. Anna doesn't accept that Erick's dead. Just like you." He said trying to conceal his disturbed feelings.

The veteran soldier shrugged. "And?"

"I suppose that both of you place your feelings before reason, although she does it for affection and you for hate."

Steponas spat by the grave of one of the Imperials. "You overrate reason."

"How can you say that? We are logical creatures. That's what separates us from the animals."

The Lithuanian shook his head. "Vladimiras did what he did because he was in love with your mother and he paid dearly for that. And you are doing the same staying here for that Norwegian Queen. Where is reason in that?"

"As I have told you, I don't stay here only for Queen Elsa."

Steponas made a wry smile which twisted the scar that crossed his face. "You can deceive yourself, but not me." He replied with a teasing tone of voice. "You use your reason to justify what you decided, driven by your emotions. If that is what you meant when you said that we are logical creatures then I agree with you. But I have never seen anybody making a really important decision, a decision that decides the way he would live his life, moved by reason."

Not being used hearing such a long speech from Steponas, Antanas looked in amused astonishment at his companion.

The veteran soldier looked at the setting sun. It was about to touch the mountains and long shadows filled the little space full of tombs. "Let's leave the dead alone and return to the castle. So you can use your beloved reason to find a way to talk with Queen Elsa, while you justify yourself saying that you are avoiding a civil war in Lithuania."

* * *

NA: Shadowfax, Lord Halkett is still warming up. ;)


	59. Imperial Pride

"Well." Friedrich von Schrader said with a broad smile on his face. "I don t think there is anything more to say." The old Prussian rose from his chair.

The four men; Friedrich, Ladislas, Duke Adrian and Duke Berganza, were in a little room, with little songbirds covering the walls, near the great hall. No ball would be celebrated that evening as a sign of mourning for the Imperials buried that same afternoon and Ladislas had asked the Queen to meet and prepare a combined response from Arendelle and the Empire to the Southern Isles attack.

The Imperials had planned all their movements. They couldn't send Imperial infantry to Norway, the Empire was too far and the English would have never accepted that. Instead Ladislas had located a little German Kingdom with a royal family which was remotely related with Arendelle's royal family. This gave them an acceptable excuse to get involved in the stupid war. It was also a petty Kingdom but great enough to send an infantry regiment of acceptable quality with some squadrons of poor cavalry to Arendelle. The Empire would pay twice the cost and they would gain some status.

The objective of the meeting with the Queen had been to obtain her agreement to accept an Imperial officer who would take command of Arendelle's forces and the German reinforcements. That would have given the Empire the control of Arendelle's army.

Once they obtained Elsa's consent, the Imperial diplomat would have gone personally to the Southern Isles and explain to this new petty King that the German soldiers could reinforce Arendelle's defenses or storm Westergard, the capital of his Kingdom.

But von Schrader, the Prussian Count had approached them after the funeral asking for a meeting with the leaders of the Imperial delegation and after twenty minutes of hearing his calm explanations, Ladislas knew that all their preparations were useless.

Von Schrader left the room and Ladislas looked at both Dukes. "Well, I think we have to reconsider our entire approach for the meeting."

"Why? He just spoke about England's commercial networks and their related countries."

"He said that England would reconsider the tariffs in London harbor of their commercial partners in the North Sea, and that he had notified all the German states. Our German ally s economy depends on the trade with England. If England raised the tariffs applied to their ships they would have problems."

"Then find another German state to do the dirty work."

"England is trying to promote a non-intervention policy in the Norwegian conflict. They will fear English reprisal."

"Then find one which does not depend on England!"

"They have harbors and ships, but their economy depends on trade, and England controls the Northern sea. We need an ally with a harbor and ships since our soldiers can't cross the north sea swimming, but the owners of said harbor and ships will take care not to fight with England."

"Then make a request for an imperial regiment!"

"I'm not going to provoke a war between England and the Empire for Arendelle!" Ladislas exclaimed.

"Then are you going to let that arrogant English humiliate the Empire? She is my future wife. Should we allow a petty Norwegian King to take the crown of a Duchess of the Empire?"

"I'm fully aware that it is a delicate situation." Ladislas replied. "You have to marry Queen Elsa in a few days, her Kingdom is about to be invaded and the Empire is too far away to offer any effective protection."

"And what are you going to do?" Adrian replied with disdain.

"You must marry Queen Elsa." Berganza intervened. "Any other option will be interpreted as a sign of weakness of the Empire."

"This is not up for discussion." Simonyi replied. "The question is how we are going to stop the Southern Isles' invasion."

"Once married Queen Elsa will be a Duchess of the Empire with the right to request an audience with the Emperor. If she made a formal request for help, it would mean a great loss of respect for the Empire not to answer." Ladislas stated.

Adrian tried to say something but Berganza spoke first. "We have to avoid that. This war and its final result must go as unnoticed as possible to avoid making it look blatantly obvious that the Empire is incapable of protecting Arendelle."

"I agree with you, but how are we going to avoid a formal request from Arendelle?" Ladislas asked.

"The best way to avoid a request is to concede it before it is made." Berganza said with an ironic smile on his face.

"I don't follow you." Ladislas said, although he suspected what Berganza was going to say. He wanted the Duke to say that it in plain words.

"Avoid the request by assuring Queen Elsa that a support force will be gathered in the Empire and sent to Arendelle." Berganza replied. "This war will be brief and that force won't depart from our harbors before it finishes. We will delay the movement of the troops until Arendelle falls under the control of King Hans of the Southern Isles. Once Arendelle is conquered, a retreat in enemy territory so far away from the Empire would be impossible and the entire issue will fall into obscurity."

"But I will be married to her!" Adrian exclaimed.

"Of course you will. You can bring her to Vienna. She will be a wonderful Duchess and I'm sure that the Emperor will accept her title and you will be allowed to add King of Arendelle to your list of titles." Berganza quickly replied. "The Empire's diplomacy won't never accept the Southern Isles invasion.

"Are you teasing me?" Adrian asked.

"Of course not! Having the title of King isn't a minor issue. This was your objective when you came to this Kingdom looking for a wife. Isn't it? Or have you other objectives in mind? In that case please tell us how we can help you." Berganza said sounding very concerned by Adrian's problems.

The sudden question took aback Duke Simonyi. "No further explanations are necessary and my reasons are of no concern of yours." He just replied.

Berganza nodded as if he had expected that reply and turned his head to speak with Ladislas. "You should talk with the English and tell him that whatever he heard about a force being assembled in our harbors, it is just a smoke screen. We couldn't send it in Norway anyway without the approval of the Royal Navy."

Ladislas was looking with interest at both Dukes. He had moved time enough in the court to recognize a stab in the back and something in Berganza's attitude indicated that his question about Simonyi's objectives wasn't innocent. _Simonyi doesn't only want the title of King and Berganza knows it, but what does Simonyi want? And what does Berganza know about it?_

Meanwhile Berganza went on. "Everything depends on how you handle her. You could start with the negotiation to obtain Arendelle's submission to the Empire in exchange for our support. She will be so worried negotiating about it that she won't try to look for other options."

"You want me to try to get Arendelle's submission for troops that never will be sent? Do you believe that Queen Elsa will be so easy deceived?" Ladislas asked.

Berganza smiled. "She seemed very deeply shaken this evening. The funeral had been scheduled for the morning and they delayed it until the afternoon. I think that Queen Elsa's mental state was the reason for that delay."

Ladislas nodded, he had noticed the same during the ceremony.

"Queen Elsa isn't able to handle a war and she will be willing to accept Imperial control in exchange for its protection."

"We can't give any timely protection." Ladislas replied still unconvinced that a woman like the Queen of Arendelle would be so easily deceived.

The Italian Duke shrugged. "You have to see it from the right point of view. If she realizes that no help will come from the Empire you must make her aware that by accepting our help and the Imperial rule, she ensures a way out for her and her sister. In case of defeat, which seems certain, she would prefer living a life as an Imperial Duchess rather than facing a hazardous exile or death by King Hans' men."

"I'm not going to accept that and I will complain to the Emperor!" Adrian Simonyi exclaimed as he gave the table a bang with his fist. "I'm not going to lose Arendelle and keep a useless woman."

Ladislas just nodded. He knew that the complaint of a Duke against the Emperor would be the end of his career as a diplomat, but provoking a war with England for Arendelle would meant the same. "I already figured that." He just replied as he thought of living in the little castle of his family in Hungary would be very boring after having been in Paris and London.

"What about our dead soldiers?" Ladislas finally replied to Berganza. "Are we going to leave their killers unpunished of their deaths?"

"There are other ways to get our revenge that do not include protecting Arendelle. We can talk about them after the meeting, but this is the only possibility to preserve the Empire's pride."

_Pride and this plan are as distant as Duke Simonyi and intelligence. _Ladislas thought, but he had accepted long ago that serving the Empire meant that from time to time he would feel shame for his own actions.

The diplomat was about to reply when there was a knock in the door. Kai came into the room. "The Queen is ready for the meeting, but she wants to talk only with the official representative of the Empire." The seneschal said with solemn voice looking at Ladislas.

"Of course." Ladislas replied in a casual tone of voice, although he wondered inwardly what the Queen of Arendelle was up to.

* * *

"Queen Elsa, are you certain of what you have said?" Ladislas asked trying to seem surprised.

"Of course I am sure. I won't accept any interference in Arendelle's affairs." Elsa said. They were alone in the Council room but for Anna who was seated by her sister.

"I just suggested..."

"You suggested that an Imperial officer would coordinate the operations between Arendelle's army and that Imperial support force you were talking about. That would mean Rolf, the commander of our army, would be a subordinate to that officer and that would be, under any point of view, an interference in Arendelle's affairs."

"As I have said before, he doesn't have to be an Imperial officer. Your future husband would be pleased to provide one of his men with wide experience in Imperial campaigns to fill that place. The support force could also be provided by your husband and the Empire wouldn't be involved."

"The sooner you realize that my husband and the Empire are the same to me, the better."

Ladislas leaned back in his chair and looked in feigned dismay at the young Queen in front of him. Queen Elsa had swallowed the bait and they had been bargaining Arendelle's submission to the Empire in exchange for help during more than an hour.

"Queen Elsa, I'm offering you a force great enough to give the victory for Arendelle in the war against the Southern Isles. Rejecting it is madness!"

"I'm not going to accept your conditions. Any soldier who helps Arendelle will be under Rolf's command and I'm not going to accept an Imperial administrator in Arendelle in exchange."

"So you expect your husband to spend a small fortune raising a private army and send it to Arendelle for free."

"I'm willing to pay him double of their cost." Elsa replied.

Ladislas no longer feigned sympathy at the young Queen. He couldn't help but feel some kind of respect for the brave and young Queen. "Queen Elsa be reasonable."

Elsa looked at the Imperial diplomat for a long time before heaving a deep sigh. Her shoulders fell and for a brief moment her expression showed her fatigue. "Would you immediately send the request for help to your Emperor?"

Ladislas felt elated by his triumph. "Of course. I will send the official request tomorrow morning in a courier ship."

"Well my sister and Kai will go on that ship." Elsa added.

"What are you talking about?" Ladislas asked totally surprised.

"They will carry a personal request from me as Duchess of the Empire."

"Why? I will already send an official request." Ladislas said trying to gain time to take control of the situation again.

"I'm sure of that. But we want to help you to move the issue." Elsa replied with a sweet smile on her face which made Ladislas shiver. "As an Imperial Duchess I will have the right to ask for a public audience with the Emperor.

"Getting an audience with the Emperor isn't so easy." Ladislas replied.

Elsa shrugged. "Anna could spend her time offering personal receptions to all the ambassadors who reside in Vienna and to the Imperial nobility. I'm sure that she would be very popular and could explain to everybody how desperately we need the Empire's help. Could you imagine my sister talking in front of those people?"

Ladislas gulped. If they wanted to solve the issue without causing commotion, Anna in Vienna would be a disaster.

"They would return with the support force." Elsa said with an innocent expression as well feigned as Ladislas' previous surprise. "But I'm not sure if that is the best option. I'm weighing other possibilities."

Ladislas was sure that the Queen had allowed him to talk about the Imperial support force just to arrive at that point and clearly state that she was aware of the great problem posed by Arendelle to the Empire. "May I know what those other options are?"

"Of course." Elsa replied beaming. "Lord Halkett isn't the only one who wants to promote peace. I could make a declaration stating that I firmly believe that the dispute between both Kingdoms can be arranged peacefully through negotiations. Imperial troops in Norway would be an obstacle for those negotiations, so I would ask the Empire not to send troops in our support."

Ladislas gazed in astonishment at Elsa. A declaration like that was the best possible solution for the Empire far beyond his wildest dreams. "And what would be the prize for that declaration? I have to warn you by no means is the Empire is going to relinquish our claim to your hand."

Both sisters looked at each other for a moment and Ladislas had the upsetting sensation that his reaction was expected.

"I understand that the wedding can't be cancelled, but I propose a postponement."

"A postponement?"

"Yes. It will be beneficial for both sides. Combined with my declaration the Empire would be released of any responsibility in Arendelle. We could say that such a celebration isn't appropriate during a war."

"And what would you gain from it?"

"Avoid Duke Adrian's meddling in Arendelle's business during the war. Once he marries me, he will have some privileges that could be a great annoyance during a war."

"And what will happen when the war ends?"

"The postponement will come to an end and we will marry. If the Duke is still interested." Elsa replied.

Ladislas took a deep breath. It was the best of the possibilities a carte blanche for the Empire. After the war Duke Simonyi could cancel the marriage agreement if Elsa lost her crown or marry her if Arendelle avoided the invasion. But the Imperial diplomat gazed in silence at both sisters.

"Don't you like my proposal? I can marry Duke Adrian in a few days, and once I become Duchess of the Empire, immediately send my sister to Vienna. I have ordered a ring with Simonyi's coat of arms and Arendelle's crocus. I can use it to seal the request to the Emperor." Elsa added with a hint of irony in her voice.

"I like it." Ladislas said. "But I'm trying to figure what you really want to obtain with this."

"Don't you trust me?" Elsa asked with a teasing tone of voice.

"Please Queen Elsa, take my words as a compliment, but I would sooner trust a venomous snake. I agree, but only if both weddings will be postponed."

"Why?" Elsa asked not even feigning surprise.

"Weddings aren't appropiate during a war. Don t you remember?" The Imperial diplomat retorted with a broad smile on his face.

* * *

When the Imperial diplomat left the Council room, Anna couldn't help laughing. "You did it! He reacted just as you expected."

The Queen of Arendelle looked at her younger sister with a faint smile on her face. Anna's laugh was infectious, but she felt too tired. "Are you convinced now that they promised us help that would never arrive on time?"

"They even tried to get the control of Arendelle's army in exchange! I don't know how, but you were right." Anna replied.

"It was obvious if you take into account Imperial history and England's attitude. They tend to bite off more than they can chew." Elsa said with weary voice.

Anna couldn't conceal her concern. Elsa seemed about to faint again. "Do you think that he would have cancelled the wedding for good?"

Elsa shook her head. "It s one thing is to postpone the wedding which is at the end a benefit for them and another to relinquish their grip over Arendelle. The Empire never cedes anything unless they are forced to do so. You also learn that from their history." Elsa sighed. "The same applies for the postponement of your wedding. He knew I would want to marry as soon as possible if that means that you would also marry. That's why he isn t allowing the celebration of your wedding. I'm sorry."

Anna shrugged. "It doesn't matter. The cancelation of yours would have been really important."

Elsa shook her head. "When this stupid war finishes, I will marry Duke Adrian." Elsa smiled when she saw Anna had become sad due to her explanation. "Don't worry, and look on bright side. Maybe I ll be dead when it happens."

Elsa tried to say it as a gallows joke, but something in the way she said it put Anna's heart in her throat.

* * *

Duke Simonyi left the room with the walls covered with songbirds with a slam of the door. Ladislas looked at Berganza who was with him. The day, which had included the funerals and the negotiations with the Queen, had been hard and the diplomat was tired

Berganza noticed Ladislas' weariness, and getting up from his chair, approached a table with liquors. "Don't worry about Simonyi's words. You got the best possible compromise for the Empire and even for him." He said as he poured two glasses of port.

Ladislas nodded and accepted one of the glasses. He took a sip and leaned back on the chair.

Berganza smiled. "I don't understand how you did it. Doesn't she realize that by delaying the wedding she is cutting her way out?"

Ladislas shook his head. "I'm sure that she is fully aware of that." The Imperial shrugged. "I suppose that she prefers exile or even death than marry Duke Simonyi."

Berganza looked at the door through which the Duke had left the room few minutes ago. "I have to admit that she may be right."

"She is right!" Ladislas exclaimed as he left the glass on a table and massaged her temples with his only hand. "Do you know why is he so interested in the Queen's hand? The title of King didn't seem to attract him."

"I haven't the slightest idea." The Italian Duke replied.

Ladislas sighed. He hadn't expected the truth from Berganza anyway. "Before the meeting, you told me that you knew a way to punish the Southern Isles."

"Wouldn t you prefer to talk about that tomorrow? You seem very tired."

Ladislas took the glass of Port from the little table and swallowed it. "I will hear it now."

"If you agree, I will take care of handling it myself." The Italian Duke said sitting in the chair in front of Ladislas.


	60. About Brothers and Parents

Arendelle's harbor buzzed with activity. A freighter was unloading two sections of light infantry (*) from Asgrim's fjord and the piers were crammed with men carrying their packs and all their equipment going towards what had been the Lithuanian encampment. Two sections of line infantry (**) from their same fjord had already been accommodated the day before in the tents previously used by the Lithuanians and were waiting for their comrades.

Their arrival had coincided with a platoon of dragoons which came from their usual base in one of the inner valleys. They had crossed a pass to reach Arendelle and the strong wind which blew over the fjord had made their trip hazardous and tiring. The twenty riders wanted to reach their own encampment as soon as possible to settle their horses in the stables, and after finishing with the horses, go to their own accommodations to rest.

When the dragoons found the main square of Arendelle full with light infantry soldiers carrying their crossbows over their heavy packs their reaction wasn't friendly. Mark was trying to mediate an acrimonious argument between the lieutenant of the dragoons and the officer who led the infantrymen. The day was ending and everybody wanted to be in their tents as soon as possible to rest and prepare for the days to come.

The fact that the fishermen returning from the sea had installed their catch in the middle of the main square with the idea to sell it made the situation even more difficult.

"Aren't they able to move such a small amount of soldiers?" Allan Halkett said with disdain. He and his uncle were on their way to the castle on a little boat which approached the harbor. From that point they had a unrestricted view of the soldiers arriving.

"Take into account the small size of the harbor." His uncle replied. "They are lucky that they have room in the fjord after the postponement of the wedding."

Allan turned his head and looked at the calm waters around Arendelle, which few days ago had been full of ships from different countries, and now were almost empty. Their frigate and Mullon's ship were the only foreign ships which remained in the fjord. Although the Imperial delegation still remained in Arendelle, the Imperial brigantine had departed to bring Duke Berganza to Hamburg from which he would return to the Empire. "Yes. Almost all the diplomats left Arendelle when Queen Elsa announced it. Do you think that the wedding will be celebrated?"

"If Queen Elsa survives the war and keeps her crown, they will marry. The Empire won't relinquish their rights over Arendelle so easily."

"Why? As you told me they can't defend it."

"It's a question of standing."

"Then why did they postpone the wedding?"

"It was a good move. The Empire is exempt of any obligation towards Arendelle and Queen Elsa takes a load off her mind. The Empire would have only been a problem for Arendelle."

The man who was rowing, a sailor from the frigate, interrupted them.

"Excuse me Sirs. We can't come ashore at the main pier. There are too many soldiers."

The man was right. The soldiers couldn't leave the pier due to the dragoons and more boats arrived from the freighter and unloaded more men.

"It doesn't matter." Howart said. "Leave us on that little beach by the harbor.

"They have the new harbor. Why don't they use it? There is plenty of space!" Allan replied nodding towards the harbor under construction.

"Today, the new harbor was reserved for Clarence and Ebbe's men, but it seems that they haven't arrived." The Englishman said with a voice laced with irony while he looked at the new harbor which was empty, in strong contrast with the very crowded Arendelle docks.

"I don't understand why Clarence and Ebbe's men are so important. They are little more than one hundred men."

"Arendelle's army is terribly small. That's a fifth of their infantry and that group of dragoons is a third of their cavalry."

"And they want to carry on a war with such a small army?"

Lord Halkett laughed. "You can't choose in things like that. They relied on their diplomacy to ensure their security."

"Is the Southern Isles' army so small?"

"It isn't a great army, but it is greater than Arendelle's. They have complete regiments; not only a small battalion of infantry and some squadrons of cavalry including squadrons of cuirassiers."

"Queen Elsa is crazy if she believes that her little army has any chance."

"They have some advantages. The path between both Kingdoms is so difficult and deserted that King Hans can't send his entire army. He couldn't feed his soldiers in such a desolate terrain. So only a part of the army will be sent."

"Will the army sent by the Southern Isles be of the same size as Arendelle's?"

"Of course not! According to Stephan's explanations, they will send four times the number of soldiers of Arendelle and far more artillery and cavalry!

Allan looked in disdain at the soldiers on the dock. "They are dead and don't know it. Why the King of the Southern Isles move his men using ships? He could send a force to Arendelle and put an end to their misery."

"Because the Southern Isles doesn't has many ships. They relied on other nation's ships for their commerce and centered their attention on the army."

"That's why you sent one of your secretaries to Weselton?"

Howart looked in surprise at his nephew. "I only sent a message to the Duke of Weselton stating that England won't stop ships of any nation from engaging in commerce with the combatants and that the royal navy will grant free pass to their ships to the harbors of Arendelle and the Southern Isles."

"Taking into account that Queen Elsa denied permission to Weselton's ships to trade with Arendelle, that doesn't leave too many options."

"The Queen of Arendelle decided that a year ago after her coronation and must accept the consequences."

"And do you think that they would only transport trade goods?"

Lord Howart Halkett shrugged. "Since Stephan has already sent a letter to his brother talking about it, I don't think so."

* * *

"Two more days! The last of their men should have reached Arendelle yesterday! That means that we will leave with a delay of three days." Anna exclaimed with indignation.

"Clarence's letter says that somebody stole the soldiers equipment and they had to replace it."

"I don't buy that. Two days ago they said that the main pier in their harbor was about to fall down due to sabotage."

"The first freighter full of soldiers arrived without problems, but the next two ships haven't even been loaded." Kai said.

"The first freighter brought only men from Arendelle. Now they have only men of their fjords." Rolf said.

"What are you suggesting?" Asgrim said. The southern Duke had arrived from his fjord sharing the last ship with his men.

"Nothing, but it is a strange coincidence."

"That troops you are talking about were based in the harbor, it's only normal they arrived first." The Southern Baron said defending his fellow Northern Barons.

"I know." Rolf said but his eyes meet with Kai's as if both men didn't need words. "Queen Elsa." Rolf finally said. "We have to make a decision. All our soldiers are in Arendelle except the two sections from the North and Herolf's men who will make their way to the southern passes on their own. We must depart as soon as possible."

"Are we going to leave behind a fifth of our army? You said a few days before that going piecemeal to the south was madness." Kai exclaimed.

"I will leave a skeleton garrison in Arendelle to minimize it."

"Are you going to leave the Queen and the Princess undefended? What will happen if Hans sends a force to Arendelle? We wouldn't be able to stop them!" Kai replied.

"That's just what I had to do with my people." Asgrim intervened. The southern Barons never liked the idea of leaving with a small garrison at their homes and join their forces with Arendelle's.

Rolf shook his head. "We have to take the risk. The battle for Arendelle will be fought in the southern passes. Whatever we do other than that is just prolonging the agony."

While Rolf, Kai and Asgrim wrangled, Anna looked at Elsa. The Queen of Arendelle was also at the meeting but she hadn't spoken. Since the news of Erick's death reached Arendelle the young Queen's state had worsened. She was depressed and her usual sharp mind was absent or confused. The negotiation with the Imperials had been her last moment of brightness.

Anna had tried to cheer her up but Elsa just shut herself up her room and she wasn't very communicative when she was outside.

The discussion between the three men had bogged down in a useless repetition of the same arguments. Asgrim turned his head to face the Queen. "Queen Elsa, I think that you must make the decision."

Elsa floundered, not knowing quite what to say and just looked at the Southern Baron. _She should have put an end to the discussion long before. _Anna thought.

"I will think about it." The Queen of Arendelle finally said.

The three men seemed uneasy at the delay of the decision but nobody objected and they left the room in silence.

"Do you want to postpone the wedding again?" Anna asked to her sister. Anna and Kristoff's wedding should have taken place three days before but the preparations for Arendelle's mobilization had forced to delay it.

But Elsa was looking through the window and hadn't heard her sister.

"Elsa!" Anna said in loud voice.

The Queen of Arendelle stopped daydreaming and looked at her sister. "Excuse me Anna." She replied shaking her head. "No. We are not going to delay it anymore. I am doubting everything, but I'm sure that both of you must marry as soon as possible. Everybody is ready but the soldiers from the north. There are some minor pending details that could be handled by Rolf and Kai's assistants."

"What do you mean?"

"I would like if Kai, Rolf and Gerda were present in the wedding. If you and Kristoff agree, of course."

Anna looked in surprise at her sister. "Of course they can come! But why do you want to invite them? We always talked about a private wedding."

"I don't know how this will end nor where, or in what condition you and I will be in at the end, but I'm sure of one thing. You will be with Kristoff."

Anna realized that her sister wanted witnesses that could make it impossible to nullify the wedding. "Do we have any chance of winning?" Anna asked.

Elsa shrugged. "We planned a defensive war against the Southern Isles, not a war against England through Han's soldiers. We have to prepare for the worst."

At that moment, Gerda entered the council room. "Would you like to have a supper before the ball?" Gerda looked at Elsa with an expression of concern.

"We should cancel these daily balls. They are just a farce and you should rest." Anna said.

"I'm not going to show Lord Halkett that this situation is affecting me. You can go to your room if you want." Elsa replied.

"And leave you alone with the Duke?" Anna replied.

But Elsa had already turned her face to talk with the old servant. "Thank you Gerda. I would take a vegetable soup."

* * *

"Queen Elsa, may I talk with you?" Antanas said approaching the throne where Elsa was sitting. Steponas, his bodyguard, was behind him. The Main hall had recovered it s usual arrangement. Most of the diplomatic delegations had left and there was space enough in the room for the few people who stayed in Arendelle. The great doors that led to the waiting room, which had been used as an extension of the Main hall, had been closed and also the windows since nobody was in the gardens.

Anna, who stood by her sister, looked with sympathy at the young and tall Lithuanian. Antanas had been friendly with them and Elsa badly needed a friendly face. The war had affected everybody and the atmosphere of the room was strained and gloomy. Nobody danced and the people just listened to the music of the orchestra. Worst of all, although the wedding had been delayed, Elsa and Adrian were officially engaged, so Adrian was seated by Elsa and his conversation wasn't especially inspiring.

"Of course Antanas." Elsa answered with a faint smile on her lips.

"I have been told that one of your men, who has returned from the Southern Isles, had information about Captain Simonyi." Antanas said

Antanas was talking about the people who had been with the deceased Arendelle ambassador in the Southern Isles. Some of his men had died with him in the populist uprising during which the Imperials had also been killed. The survivors had been expelled from the country and had returned to Arendelle in a little ship. One that Elsa had personally excluded from the tasks of the mobilization to return that men and women home.

Elsa nodded. "Yes. The leader of the ambassador's escort, said that he saw Captain Simonyi the night of the massacre, but unfortunately he just confirmed Rollo's version."

Antanas winced at Elsa's words. "I'm sorry. He deserved something better than that."

"Why do you say that?" Adrian Simonyi said. "Your father died because of him. Wouldn't you have preferred a worse death for him?"

"I would have preferred him to be safe and sound."

"You have a poor memory young man. He was your enemy and would be your enemy again if the Empire and Lithuania were at war. Don't let yourself to be taken in by a friendly smile or gentle words."

Steponas slowly strode forward to be in a better position to place himself between the young Lithuanian and the Duke. Ladislas, who had been near the throne talking with an Imperial soldier, interrupted his conversation and also approached the throne. Everybody in the hall fell silent and listened to Antanas and Adrian.

"I have a very good memory. In fact I remember a story which involves an Imperial soldier who fought against Lithuania in the Plains." He turned to face Elsa and Anna. "I think it could interest both of you, if you agree I would like to hear it."

Elsa looked warily at the Duke at her side, but when she was about to talk Anna intervened. "We will be delighted to hear your story."

Elsa seemed to doubt but finally nodded.

"It starts three years ago, when the Imperial army killed my father and defeated the Lithuanian army. Our soldiers fled and the Imperial soldiers took the encampment."

Anna noticed that Steponas stiffened and looked around him. The room was full of Imperial soldiers who listened attentively to Antanas' explanations. The Princess of Arendelle supposed that some of them would have been in the Plains. Perhaps they had been in that very battle.

"I was in the encampment, and the collapse of the Lithuanian army was so quick that my escort and I were trapped there. We decided to split up in small groups and try to sneak out."

"How old were you Antanas?" Elsa gently asked.

"Twelve years old and I was very afraid. I was with my personal bodyguard. A man who had taken care of me since I was a child and had sworn to defend me."

Anna looked at Steponas. Had the silent bodyguard also protected Vladimiras since his childhood? Both men seemed to be very close although they were very different in character and rank.

"We heard sounds approaching and we hid into a tent. It was a large one, it should have belonged to a member of our nobility, but the Imperial soldiers had already been and gone. The tent had been searched. The vaults had been opened, its contents were littered on the floor and the furniture broken. Near the door was a dead woman. Somebody had stabbed her to death."

The Imperials didn't seemed pleased when Antanas said that the Imperial soldiers had already ransacked the tent, nor when he talked about the dead woman. They hadn't liked Adrian's comments about Erick. But Steponas had centered all his attention in Adrian. The bodyguard seemed to know how the story ended and mistrusted the Duke's reaction.

"An imperial hussar followed us. His men had scattered in the encampment and he was trying to gather them again to pursue our rearguard. Maybe he had heard us entering the tent and thought that we were one of his men, or maybe it was just bad luck."

Ladislas frowned when he heard the word hussar. He had also regretted what Duke Adrian had told about Erick and he didn't need another dreadful story about the brutality of the Imperial soldiers.

"When he entered, my bodyguard jumped on him trying to take him by surprise and quickly kill him, but the man was lighting fast and parried the thrust which would have run through his bowels. They fought in the limited space of the tent. My bodyguard was a better swordsman, but the Imperial always managed to avoid his attacks using a trick or sheer quickness."

"What is that soldier's name?" The Duke asked.

But Antanas ignored the question and went on with his story. Even the orchestra had stopped playing when they realized that nobody was listening to them. "My bodyguard told me to leave the tent and flee, but I didn't want to desert him. And at the end, I condemned him. Trying to get rid of the Imperial quickly because he feared that a group of Imperials would appear at any time, my bodyguard risked too much, and jumping backwards to avoid the hussar's sword, stumbled over a fallen chair. He staggered just a second, but it was enough for his adversary to killed him with a quick slash to his head.

Anna noticed that Steponas made an almost imperceptible wince. Maybe Antanas' bodyguard was a friend of his. Maybe some of the Imperials in the Hall had also lost friends in that battle.

"I was so furious by my bodyguard's death that I forgot my fear, and picking up his sword, attacked the hussar trying to avenge my friend." One of the Imperials, a hussar, nodded in approval and whispered something in the ear of an Imperial cuirassier who was at his side.

"But I was just a child and he easily disarmed me. He told me that I was brave but only a child. I was so ashamed of myself that I replied that I wasn t a child but Antanas, the elder son of the heir to the Lithuanian throne."

"Did that soldier know the order I had issued regarding the members of your family?" Adrian asked looking fixedly at the young Lithuanian.

"I suppose so because he told me to shut up if I wanted to stay alive, but I didn't listen to reason and tried to hit him with my bare hands. At the end, he delivered a blow which knocked me out."

Antanas paused and looked at the Queen of Arendelle, who seated in her throne, listened with interest his story. Elsa's lips curved in a smile that made the young Lithuanian's heart skip a beat. "What happened?" She asked. "I suppose that you escaped from the encampment."

"I regained consciousness in a thicket of beeches out of the encampment. The hussar was mounting his horse and I was dressed in the clothes of the dead woman in the tent. I was furious and challenged him to a duel. He just smiled and said that I was still a child and he would accept my duel when I come of age, but now I had to run towards the center of the wood. There was a section of Lithuanian infantry which would protect me. After saying that, he saluted me and put his horse into a quick canter leaving me alone."

Adrian seemed about to jump from his seat. "Did Erick do that? Then he was a traitor to the Empire. I gave an explicit order to all the soldiers under my command in the Plains to kill any member of your family who was captured regardless of their age or gender."

"I knew that order. One aunt and a cousin younger than me died because of it. Regarding the identity of the soldier, I was very young and the shock affected my memory. I don't even remember the hussar s face." Antanas replied, his voice laced with irony."

"Do you think that I'm going to believe that?"

"Are you going to believe the explanations of a man who fought against the Empire, against one of your own soldiers?" Elsa suddenly intervened. "I thought that the Empire's army was a respected institution, especially an elite corps as the hussars. Was I wrong?" She made the last question looking at Ladislas who clad in his red hussar uniform stood by the Duke.

"Of course it is respected!" The Imperial diplomat replied. "The Queen is right. If the Lithuanian Prince doesn't recognize Erick as the man who saved him, you can't doubt a Prince's word. Anyway he doesn't even know how the hussar put him out of the encampment."

Anna noticed that the atmosphere in the room had utterly changed. Some Imperial soldiers looked at Antanas with sneer, but others looked with barely concealed amusement at the Imperial Duke. _Some Imperials don't love Adrian. _Anna thought. Anyway, the strain had disappeared. In a corner of the Hall Anna also saw Howart and Allan Halkett looking at the young Lithuanian. Event at that distance Anna could tell that Allan had a disdainful smile on his face. The expression of his uncle instead was inscrutable.

But the Duke didn't notice the change in the atmosphere of the hall. "Are you mocking me? Erick dressed him in the woman's clothes and took him out of the encampment on his horse, disobeying his superior's orders. I'm sure that he would do something like that. All the time he lived with my family my father wasn't able to teach him what being an Imperial nobleman means. He wasn't a real member of our family."

"I'm sure that you don't share the same father as that soldier." Antanas interrupted. "When he was moving away from me, I was still so angry and ashamed that I shouted, asking why he had done that. He stopped and said that he had learned the basis of war from his father and he never had taught him how to murder children."

After saying that Antanas bowed to the Queen and the Princess and left the room followed by Steponas.

Anna looked at her sister who had turned her face to conceal from Adrian's sight a furtive smile.

* * *

"Why did you that? I thought that you loved that girl?" Steponas said speaking in Lithuanian once they were out of the room.

"That's why I did that! She must know the truth." Antanas replied as he went towards the stairs which lead to the courtyard.

"Do you think that it is sensible to tell a woman you love about another man? Especially when she is in love with that man."

"He is dead!"

They reached the staircase and Steponas stopped. "Then let him rest in peace. There's no point in talking about him. And weren't you able to choose a better moment to explain old stories? Could you explain me why you told it to her in front of that group of Imperials?" He said to Antanas who had begun to go down the stairs.

"I told it because I love her and I knew that it would comfort her, and I told it in front of Duke Simonyi because," the young Lithuania stopped in the middle of the first flight and turned to face his bodyguard who stood in the top of the stairs. "Because I hate him and I knew that it would screw him over."

Steponas looked at the younger Lithuanian with and amused smile on her face. "Well. If that is an example of what you call reason, I could like to be reasonable."

* * *

(*) Light Infantry: Light infantry (or skirmishers) are soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry fought in open-order, often in close co-ordination with line infantry, where they could screen the line infantry from harassing fire, and the line infantry could intervene to protect the light infantry from attacks of enemy line infantry or cavalry. (Excerpt from wikipedia).

(**) Line Infantry: Line infantry is the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the middle of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century. They were trained to fight aligned into long thin lines and fired volleys to get the largest deployment of firepower. Other formations they used were square (to protect from cavalry) and column (for movement and meele attacks).(Excerpt from wikipedia)

NA: Hi everybody.

When I started to plan the last third of the story, I spent a lot of time thinking how to handle the army. Military movements will be important in the last third of the story and the soldiers described in the film frozen are absolutely illogical. In a world without firearms soldiers would protect themselves with any bit of armor they could get. Napoleonic soldiers wore just shirts and coats because the power of firearms had made armor useless. But in frozen you can see Napoleonic soldiers (The uniform of the Arendelle's guards is very similar to the British 95th Rifles) equipped just with lances, swords and crossbows.

Anyway I decided to maintain the style of the film because the lack of firearms match with a story like frozen (I just added artillery because Napoleonic battles are utterly impossible without the combination of infantry, cavalry and artillery). So I will describe Napoleonic battles and tactics in armies using just lances, swords and crossbows (but no shields Napoleonic soldiers didn't use shields by the same reason that they didn't use armor). I know that it's absolutely illogical but I never let realism to spoil a good story (Another point is if the story is good enough to destroy history in such a way ;)

See you in Arendelle


	61. Troll Wedding

It was a beautiful summer day and it would become a lovely night. Elsa's powers never affected the climate in the Valley of Living Rock and it was a real pleasure not feeling responsible for the problems with the weather. The weather and everything else. Elsa thought.

The Queen of Arendelle wore a dress with the colors of the rock and the moss. It had been easier to make with her powers than expected. She had recovered a lot from her wounds and using her powers wasn't as painful as a few days ago, but she still had to work slowly to avoid brutal stabs of pain.

They were in a little hanging valley tributary of the main valley. A little stream fell from its outlet to the ground of the valley two-hundred meters below. The trolls had chosen a little rock platform near the end of the hanging valley for the wedding, and the views were breathtaking.

The entire Valley showed its best face. The trees, the grass, the flowers, everything seemed more beautiful than usual. Elsa supposed that the powers of the trolls had something to do with that.

Erick would have liked this place. He wouldn't have felt cooped up among mountains. Elsa thought. She had tried not to think of her lover, but seeing Kristoff at Anna's side, she couldn't help remembering the young Imperial. She stiffened and tried to conceal her feelings. Today is a day for happiness. Anna deserves nothing less.

A great crowd of Trolls had gathered around the platform. They had been there the entire morning making jokes with the bride and the groom, but once the ceremony started they were solemnly singing and looking at the rock platform on which Grand Pabbie pronounced the words of the troll ceremony of marriage in front of Anna and Kristoff who were wearing the long cloaks of moss and the crowns of grass and wood.

Elsa was right behind the couple, with Sven at her side. Anna turned and their eyes met in an instant. It was easy to see that Anna was exultant. The shimmering crystals which lit her paled beside the young Princess' gleaming eyes.

Seeing Anna in that moment is worth whatever sacrifice. Elsa thought as she smiled back at her sister. Elsa looked at the group of guests from Arendelle. They stood apart from the trolls and watched with fascination mixed with fear at the alien ceremony. Elsa asked inwardly if a wedding officiated by a troll would have legal standing, but after Ladislas' refusal to officiate Anna's wedding before hers, it was their only option.

The other guests didn't stand apart from the trolls. Olaf, Marshmallow and a representation of the Snowgies had mixed with the trolls and now were among the ranks of trolls watching the ceremony. Olaf felt dizzy. The young trolls had been playing catch with Olaf's head, throwing it back and forth to each other while the snowman's body tried to get it back. Elsa had tried to stop it until she discovered that the snowman enjoyed the game as much as the trolls.

Elsa took a deep breath and tried to conceal her own weariness. Gerda had brought a basket full of little honey cakes, Elsa's favorites, from the castle kitchen. They were reserved for the Queen and Gerda had made sure that Elsa ate them all. The old servant said that they would restore the Queen's energy,

but it had been useless. She felt weary, exhausted and it was difficult to think properly. She was even beginning to feel sick due to Sven's smell. She had noticed the reindeer smell before, but now she was fully aware of it. Anna promised that Kristoff would wash him. Elsa thought. For a second, she was about to faint, but stood by sheer willpower.

Luckily Grand Pabbie was finishing. He pronounced the last words and Anna and Kristoff kissed. The trolls broke their respectful tranquility and leaped on the couple. Anna and Kristoff were lifted into the air and ushered among cheers and jokes out of the rock platform towards the place of the party. Everybody looked at the couple and it was easy for Elsa to sit unnoticed on a fallen tree on the edge of the rock platform.

While she pulled herself together, the young Queen enjoyed the beautiful view of the main valley from her seat, but even the scent of the flowers around was too intense.

"Are you all right?"

Elsa turned to face Grand Pabbie who had approached and looked at her with an expression of concern on his round face. "Are you all right Queen Elsa?" He had noticed that Elsa had stayed behind and had decided to see what happened.

Elsa smiled at the old troll as she raised from her seat. "I'm just a bit tired. Thank you."

But Pabbie was already examining Elsa using his powers. He had noticed Elsa's weariness and found it very strange for a person with as much energy as the Queen of Arendelle.

He had just started when his eyes widened in surprise. "I'm sorry Queen Elsa. I shouldn't have meddled in your affairs, but please accept my hearty congratulations."

Elsa was confused. She didn't understand Pabbie's words. "Congratulations? Why?"

"On your new situation."

Elsa supposed that the troll was talking about her engagement with the Duke. "Thank you, but my wedding with Duke Simonyi has been postponed."

Then, it was the troll's turn to be confused, but suddenly his eyes lit up. "You still don't know! Of course, it's very early and you haven't missed your period."

"Missing my period what are you..." Elsa started to say but stopped talking suddenly and her eyes widened when she realized what the troll was talking about.

"There are two new lives inside you, a girl and a boy. The girl has the same powers as you. The boy doesn't." The troll paused for a moment. "Queen Elsa, are you all right?" Grand Pabbie said when he saw Elsa turning pale and slowly sit again on the fallen tree.

* * *

Anna saw Elsa sitting near the border of the rock platform. At last. She thought. The young bride had noticed that her sister wasn't in the party and quickly had begun to search for her while Kristoff dealt with his family. She got closer with long strides. Elsa was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't even notice Anna's presence.

"Elsa, what are you doing here?" The Princess asked.

Elsa turned her face to look at her sister. Grand Pabbie had left a little time ago. He had thought that Elsa's tiredness was motivated by her pregnancy and he wanted to join the party.

Anna realized that her sister had both hands over her abdomen as if she was touching something very fragile.

"Does your wound hurt? Then why are you here alone?" Anna asked in concern.

Elsa shook her head "My wound doesn't hurt and I'm not alone."

Anna looked around but she didn't see anybody. "Who are you talking about?"

"About me. Grand Pabbie found out that I'm pregnant."

Anna's eyes widened and her face lit up in delight. "This is great! But you don't seem happy."

"First I didn't like it. It was an unexpected problem, but now although I'm worried, I can't help feeling a strange happiness. Something of Erick will remain in them."

"Them?"

"There are two, a girl and a boy. It seems that the girl will also have my powers."

"Wow!" Anna exclaimed momentarily overwhelmed by the sudden revelation.

"It scares you a little. Doesn't it?" Elsa said with a nervous smile on her face.

"No, it is... I mean that's great news." Anna replied smiling. "Why do you seem so upset?"

Elsa raised her hands in a gesture of helplessness. "I had prepared myself to carry Adrian's sons, but I never expected something like this. An hour ago they didn't exist. Now they are the most important thing in the world and I haven't even seen them. Everything is based in the words of a troll."

Anna smiled with sympathy at her sister. Rarely Anna had seen Elsa so confused. "Are you going to strip them of their rights to Arendelle's crown as you told me some days ago?"

"Anna, they will be Imperials. Arendelle will be something distant for them." Elsa said but her voice was doubtful.

"Then send them one or two months every year to Arendelle with their aunt Anna. I and Kristoff will teach them what means to be men and women from Arendelle."

"Anna I'm scared. Until now everything was easy. Whatever happened would only affect me, but they will suffer the same fate as me and I don't like the world where they will be raised. It's cruel and dangerous." Elsa said the last words looking towards the south. Anna had the intuition that she was picturing the Southern Isles army gathering and marching north.

The Princess of Arendelle shrugged and put a hand over Elsa's belly holding one of her sister's hands. "I suppose that our parents also had to face a cruel and dangerous world. They did their best protecting us from it and now is our turn to protect them."

Elsa smiled and remained silent absorbed in her thoughts with her hand holding her sister's over her belly.

* * *

A little later Rolf and Kai appeared. They had noticed that Anna and Elsa weren't in the party and had gone to search for them.

"My Queen are you all right? Maybe this trip had been too much effort with your wound" Kai asked when he saw Elsa and Anna's holding hands over the former's abdomen.

Elsa raised her head and brushed a lock of hair off her forehead. "Thank you Kai, but I'm fine. Rolf, I have to ask you to leave the celebrations and return to Arendelle."

"Is there something wrong?" The soldier asked in surprise.

"You must begin the preparations for the departure of the army. It will march tomorrow early in the morning to the southern passes. Just leave a skeleton garrison in Arendelle. If we are defeated, any further resistance would be useless."

"But my Queen, who will defend the castle if the Southern Isles army invades the fjord? Even with few ships they could send a force to Arendelle big enough to overrun us." Kai said.

"I fear that we have to take that risk." Elsa replied.

"I can't agree. The Queen of Arendelle must be protected." The seneschal stated.

"Don't worry about that. I will go with the army. I'm not going to stay in Arendelle while my soldiers fight."

"With the army! This is..." The seneschal began to say but the Queen interrupted him.

"This is not up for discussion." Elsa retorted as she turned to look at her sister at her side. "I suppose that I couldn't convince you to stay in Arendelle."

Anna just shook her head with a broad smile on her face.

Elsa looked again at Kai. "You will take care of the castle in our absence. I know that it is a heavy burden on your shoulders, but nobody could do it better than you."

Kai took a deep breath and nodded speechless.

"Queen Elsa, May I depart?" Rolf asked with a voice that showed his happiness.

"Don't you want to eat something before leaving? There's a long ride to Arendelle." Elsa asked.

"I will have supper in Arendelle while I prepare my men." Rolf replied before turning to leave them. The commander went at a pace so quick that he almost ran towards the place where they had left their horses.

* * *

Anna stopped suddenly. "Gerda, may I ask you a question?"

Although they were in the middle of the forest they could hear the sounds of the party and see its lights through the darkness of the night. She and Gerda were on their way to the place where they had left the horses. The night cooled down and they had gone to fetch their shawls. They were about to rejoin the party, which was at its peak although it had lasted for more than six hours, when Anna had a sudden inspiration.

"Of course Anna." Gerda said with a broad smile on her face. "Is it something about the wedding night?" The woman asked with a knowing tone of voice.

"Er... no." Anna replied. She hadn't anticipated that reply from Gerda. "It's relative to pregnancy. When a woman starts to feel that she is pregnant. I mean feeling tired and sick." She replied as quick as she could to avoid any explanation from Gerda about the wedding night.

Gerda's face lit up. "Are you..." She didn't complete the question looking at Anna with her face gleaming with happiness.

Anna gazed the woman's face for a long second with a confused look before she realized what Gerda meant. "No. My..." She held back just in time from revealing her sister's secret."

Gerda interpreted her silence as an affirmation. "Don't worry Anna. Some babies are born two months early so if your baby comes earlier than expected, nobody will care."

Anna looked in utter disbelief at Gerda. She had been like a mother to her since the death of her actual mother. Anna associated her with being treated like a kid; rebukes when she had done something wrong, and comfort when she had hurt herself playing. Hearing the old woman talking about those issues was very strange. "Gerda, I only want to know when a woman starts to feel that she is pregnant in particular how much time since she ..." Anna stopped talking. She was unable to tell Gerda.

"Do you mean how much time since she went to bed with the man?" The servant asked with such a nonchalant demeanor that surprised and upset Anna.

Anna just nodded. She had decided that she wouldn't care about what Gerda was supposing.

The woman went on. "At the end of the first month. Usually when she misses her first period. But this may be very different for every woman."

But Elsa was with Erick only ten days ago. It's too early. Anna thought. "And can it be earlier?"

Gerda smiled and took Anna's hand. "You are counting the days to know when it started. Don't worry about that. The point is how it finishes."

Anna gulped. "But can it be earlier?"

Gerda shook her head. "It is not usual. I'm so happy Anna. And I tried to explain to you what to do on your wedding night." She laughed. "I hope you will excuse me."

At that moment they noticed that Kristoff was approaching.

"We will talk later." Gerda whispered.

Anna nodded in relief and the servant went away.

"What were you talking with Gerda?" Kristoff said when he reached Anna. "She looked at me weird."

Anna chuckled. "It's a long story."

Kristoff smiled. "You'll have to explain it to me later. Your sister and the snowmen are having an argument."

"Why?"

"Both want to go with us to the southern pass and Elsa wants them to return immediately to the Ice Palace."

Anna remembered her sister expression when she was looking towards the south. "She wants to protect them. They are like children to her."

"If Arendelle falls even the Ice Palace won't be a safe place, and Marshmallow is strong enough to face an entire company of soldiers."

"Yes. But he has the mind of a child and Elsa won't allow her children to go to war."

"So you won't try to convince your sister."

Anna shook her head with a mischievous smile on her face. "I prefer not to know the details of Elsa's parenting, and what they are and are not allowed to do. That way I won't have to lie to my sister later."

* * *

NA: Hi Everybody.

I hope you have enjoyed this chapter because we won't read anything about Elsa and Anna for a while. In the chapters to follow we will go back in time to the Southern Isles during the night of the Imperial massacre to find out what happed that fateful night.

Thanks for your comments Wayward. I'm glad that you like the story and Erick. I spent a lot of story time in the character and it's good to know that it was worth it. As I commented before, you will be able to read soon what happened in the Souther Isles. ;)

Regarding the English grammar errors, I totally agree with you. Not being a speaker of English, my knowledge of it isn't so good as I whish. Luckily Lauren's corrections have greatly improved the readability of the text (sometimes when I receive one of the chapters with her corrections with so much blue due to the corrections I feel shivers :).

See you in Arendelle.


	62. A New King

The city, a great one by Norwegian standards, was by a wide bay; a natural port, in which two ships had arrived during the day causing a real commotion. Although before the arrival of the ships its inhabitants already had good reasons to be worried. A few days before, the news from Arendelle about the imprisonment of King Konrad had shaken the entire city profoundly.

The subjects of the Southern Isles King were used to believing that their country was a powerful one. Of course the size of their army was smaller than England s, but they were convinced that their soldiers were braver, better trained and better equipped than their British counterparts. They were burdened with heavy taxes to ensure that. But Konrad's imprisonment by England had been a harsh blow for their confidence about their country.

The arrival of both ships had increased the tension. The first to arrive had been a little cutter which entered the great bay at midday bringing a new King to the city. King Hans, with the support of Count Valsrom's men, had quickly taken control.

First they had seized the keep; the old and gloomy tower over a hill by the mouth of the bay which dominated the entire city, to take control of the treasury of the Kingdom. After that the different regiments garrisoned in the city had quickly pledged loyalty to the new King. Officers loyal to the Count had been strategically placed in the cavalry squadrons to ensure their loyalty.

There had been no bloodshed but for a few soldiers protecting the keep who had to be killed to convince their comrades to surrender the fortress. Messengers had been sent to different parts of the country to require the loyalty of the garrisons out of the capital and the new rulers of the country prepared a great ceremony to crown King Hans that very day.

The King and his entourage had just arrived at the new Palace, a great building which replaced the keep as the center of government in the country during the reign of Hans' father, when the huge Imperial Brigantine entered into the port. The people looked on suspiciously as Imperials clad in flamboyant uniforms arrived at the docks, while they asked themselves why those foreigners had come on that particular day.

Few people knew enough about Prince Hans to like or dislike him, but he was a member of house Westergard, and being used to being governed by one of its members, they felt that they had the duty to defend their new King from the men who had imprisoned their previous one. The fact that the Empire had nothing to do with Konrad's destiny was mentioned only by a few people to whom nobody paid attention. Everybody was busy toasting and swearing to protect the King, although they wouldn't have complained if the newcomers had taken Count Valsrom with them.

Hans of House Westergard, the new King, was in the main hall of the New Palace talking with the leaders of the Imperials. The hall was crowded with the Southern Isles' nobility and the Imperials, but Hans managed to have a view of Count Valsrom at the other side of the Hall.

Valsrom, the man so unloved by the people of the Capital, was an impressive looking man. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and muscular. He was quick to make decisions, although also quick to anger. He should have been positioned by the King, as the man who had raised him to the throne for the quickly arranged coronation and the party, but the sudden appearance of the Imperial brigantine had changed the plan.

They didn't want to give the impression of a puppet King in the hands of a powerful magnate. What was best in everybody's interest was to show the rightful heir of an old dynasty loyally supported by all of his nobility. The fact that the first version was the naked truth wasn't the point.

So, although in a place of prominence, Valsrom had been among the other Counts. Hans had suggested it and the Count had accepted. So the new King had obtained his first victory. Anything which reinforced his authority, even during the ceremony, was welcomed.

Hans knew that it had been risky. Even recognizing the good sense of the measure, the Count hadn't liked it. Valsrom despised Hans and would have gladly thrown him into the deepest and darkest dungeon, where his final fate would have been a slow death by lack of food and sheer desperation. But the Count needed him as much as he needed the Count, and that sustained a difficult alliance.

Hans' eyes met with the Count's at the other side of the hall. The King could see the darkness of the dungeon gleaming in Valsrom's eyes and felt that he was walking on thin ice, but he smiled nonchalantly at the mighty nobleman. _Someday I will have my opportunity and then I won't be as gentle as you would have been throwing me in a dungeon. _Hans thought while he went on with the conversation with the leaders of the Imperial delegation.

Initially the Imperials had treated him with cold courtesy. Obviously they had been told that he had been imprisoned for trying to kill Queen Elsa and Princess Anna. Understandably, finding him as the new King of the Southern Isles had been an unexpected surprise.

But Hans had used his charm and talked about the incident as a lamentable misunderstanding. Hopefully they had believed him, or at least pretended to believe him. It was clear that, for the Imperials, what had happened before wasn't as important as what they could do together in the future.

"I'm glad that Duke Simonyi has been chosen to be the future King of Arendelle. I'm sure that he will start a new era in the relationship between Arendelle and the Southern Isles." Hans said answering a comment of one of the Imperials about the wedding which would be celebrated soon.

"Does it mean that the Southern Isles would relinquish his fantasy of unifying Norway under its command?" Other Imperial asked.

_The Imperials like to be rude when they have the upper hand. _Hans thought. Dealing with the Imperials was a complex exercise. They were proud, had power far greater than the Southern Isles behind them and liked to show it, but Hans had discovered that some of them managed to be subtle even in their rudeness. Hans was sure that the topic of the wedding had been introduced by the Imperials to sound him out.

"I was thinking of cooperation. The Empire has gained most beautiful flower of Norway in the conference, but you will discover that, like all flowers it's extremely delicate. The Southern Isles would be a reliable ally in this area and we could help the Empire get a firm grip on Arendelle." Hans thought that the Empire would badly need local allies to hold Arendelle against English influence. If he managed to be the intermediary between both powers, the crown would be firmly established on his head.

"Isn't the Southern Isles also a delicate flower? It isn't a great country that's for sure." The Imperial replied. He spoke French with Italian accent and his name was Giulio. He had been presented as a minor Italian noblemen, but also as a representative of the Duke Berganza of Milan. A good contact with an Imperial Duke would be invaluable for Hans' schemes.

Hans decided to interpret the word _great_ in a non-offensive way. "Dear Sir, our country isn't as extensive as the Empire, but we are here and the Empire s nearest outposts are so far away." Hans replied with a smile.

The Italian accepted the reply with a smile and nodded as if he was expecting it.

Hans felt encouraged by Giulio's reaction and went on. "Regarding our supposed delicateness, Arendelle's emblem is a beautiful flower. My house instead holds a sword as an emblem and I assure you that the symbols match with reality in this case."

Suddenly somebody behind Hans spoke. "I have been told that the sword of Westergard once shattered in your hand against a flower of Arendelle."

Hans felt a sudden surge of rage. The words had brought back the memories of the day when his well-hatched plan failed due the impetuosity of a too impulsive girl and her sister's sorcery. If Anna hadn't put herself between her sister and him, using her body to shield Elsa from his attack, Hans would be King of Arendelle.

All that passed through Hans' mind, but nobody would have noticed any reaction on his face. He slowly turned to see who had spoken. It was a young hussar clad in a black uniform with a silver death head on his shako.

"I don t think we ve been introduced yet." Hans said in a friendly tone of voice.

"Captain Erick Simonyi of the thirteen of hussars." The hussar calmly replied as he looked at Hans with piercing eyes.

"The captain is also the younger brother of Duke Adrian Simonyi and first in the line of the succession to the Duchy." Giulio added

Hans looked with interest at the young Captain. His uniform wasn't of the quality that somebody would expect in the brother of a Duke. Maybe he was the black sheep of the family.

"You seem very interested in Arendelle and its rulers." Hans said.

"They will be my sisters in law shortly and I have learnt about them." Erick replied.

Hans supposed that the Captain was just defending what he considered the honor of his future family. "I didn't intend to offend you with my words. I was just referring to Arendelle's military power." _Although, maybe I could explain one or two things you don't know about both sisters._

"I think the past is water under the bridge. Let's talk about the present." Giulio interrupted.

Hans turned to reply the Italian. The hussar, after having a last look at him, turned and went out of the hall. Hans assumed that he was just an Imperial with a too high opinion of himself who was satisfied and proud of the excuses obtained from a King. Hans centered his attention again in the Italian, but he couldn't help feeling that there was something in the way the Imperial hussar had looked at him which didn't add up with that explanation.

* * *

Jens Haavik was near the group formed by the Imperials and King Hans. He wasn't able to hear what they were talking about, but seeing the look on their faces was a good source of information.

When the hussar clad in black left the group, Haavik followed him with his eyes. Once Erick crossed the door of the room, he decided that he had seen enough, and after leaving his half-empty glass of cognac on a tray held by a waiter, left the hall following Erick.

He found him in the hallway behind the door studying one of the few pictures hanging on the walls. Haavik noticed that it was a picture of Hans at young age with his parents. The hussar turned to face the newcomer.

"Are you Captain Simonyi?" The stranger asked.

The hussar just nodded and looked at him in silence.

_Those eyes aren't the eyes of a diplomat. _Haavik thought holding Erick's gaze. "I'm Jens Haavik Arendelle's ambassador in the Southern Isles and I have a letter for you."

The Imperial looked at him in surprise. "I didn't expect any letter."

The ambassador produced two envelopes from a pocket in his jacket and handed them to the hussar. He hesitated for a second but finally Erick took the letters and looked at the seals on them . "Is it Queen Elsa's seal?" The hussar asked seeing the crocus on the wax.

"Almost." Jens replied. "It's Princess Anna s personal seal. I have received another letter with orders to offer you my support and help on any issue you may need. In fact I have been ordered to treat you as if you were Princess Anna."

The young hussar quickly opened both letters and read them. It was easy to see, when he finished, that he didn't find what he had expected.

"You don't seem pleased. May I help you?"

The hussar just handed one of the letters to the diplomat who took it and carefully read it, as he wondered what the other letter would say. _The important one is never shared. _"This orders any member of Arendelle's army or embassies to treat the bearer of this letter as if he was a captain of Arendelle's army and give him whatever help he could need. It is signed by Princess Anna, Arendelle's crowned regent." Jens said after reading the letter. He raised his eyebrows and handed back the letter. "Princess Anna must really trust you to sign that."

The Imperial just nodded while he put both letters in one of his pockets.

"I repeat my offer. May I help you?" The ambassador said.

"No." The hussar replied, but he changed his mind. "Well in fact you can help me. Could you tell me why there are so many empty spaces on the wall?" Erick said pointing at an empty place beside the painting he had been studying.

Jens looked at the wall; it was obvious that a picture had hung there a short time before, but now the space was empty and it was easy to see a rectangle that was a lighter color than the rest of the wall. "King Hans ordered the removal of all the portraits of King Konrad, but there were too many and there aren't enough pictures of Prince Hans. The servants are in the basement looking for great pictures of old battles won by the Southern Isles army, but they are large and difficult to move. Taking in account that the King arrived to the palace this very afternoon, they have been busy enough removing the old ones."

Erick smiled as if he had figured it out. "He is removing any trace of the previous King and I suppose that our sudden appearance caught them in the middle of the process."

"Yes and not only for the pictures. At this moment a man is imprisoned in a room of the palace waiting to be transferred to a jail in the old keep. Your ship appeared just after his detention and they feared that you would see him during his travel to the keep. They didn't want to show the Empire that aspect of the Kingdom s politics."

Erick remembered the old and sullen fortification which towered the entry to the harbor. "Is the new King imprisoning his own brothers?"

"He would, if he could catch any of them, but they are out of his reach. He has imprisoned Count Erling."

"I don't know him. Is he a relative with rights to the throne?"

The diplomat shook his head. "You are almost right. Ten years ago, the old King conquered and integrated into the Kingdom the independent County of Eastmark, but they have never felt like part of the Southern Isles. Many people in Eastmark believe that Erling is the rightful heir to the County."

"And he could take advantage of any possible tension inside the Kingdom associated with the beginning of Hans' reign in such unusual circumstances. So they decided to put a stop to a possible rebellion before it started. But they didn't take into account that this will ensure a rebellion at the first opportunity."

"I think Count Valsrom gave the order. He liberated the new King from his imprisonment and he acts as if he was the real ruler of the Kingdom. Hans would have been more subtle."

"So Valsrom is the man who really controls the realm."

"If the puppet was another member of the royal family, I would agree with you. But Hans of Westergaard isn't an easy man to control. They will play a complex and harsh chess game for the control of the Kingdom."

"I noticed it."

"What do you mean?" The diplomat asked.

"When I spoke to the King in the hall, I tried to provoke his fury by interrupting him in an unexpected and unpleasant way."

"I noticed that, when you talked, your Imperial companions stiffened."

"Yes. But Hans just stopped for less than a second and then he adapted his conversation to the new situation without hesitation or surprise. Like a good actor who is able to improvise when the play goes off script."

Jens nodded. "King Hans learned from his early childhood that showing his feelings is dangerous. It's very difficult, or impossible, to know what he really thinks."

At that moment, the doors of the hall opened and the Imperials began to pour out of the hall. The Arendelle diplomat discreetly disappeared.

Rollo was one of the first Imperials to leave the hall and approach Erick. "Are you waiting to pull another King's leg?"

Erick shook his head. "Are we leaving?"

"Yes. We will spend the night on the ship, so we will weigh anchor early in the morning." The Genoese Captain replied.

Erick and Rollo followed the rest of the Imperials to the patio in front of the palace were a group of carriages and horses were waiting to bring them through the streets of Westergard to the docks.

* * *

NA: Hi everybody.

Here you have the first chapter of Erick's whereabouts in the Southern Isles. I hope that, although there have been nine chapters without him, you still remember the hussar with the death head on his shako. Elsa does, that's for sure.

Wayward Fawn, I'm very glad that you like Erick so much. If you wanted to be an Imperial hussar, maybe you will like to see those pictures, to see a girl that got it (search in google the images for: Princess Luise of Prussia death head hussar). She is a Prussian hussar instead of Imperial, but the pictures are very interesting.

See you in Arendelle.


	63. Adrian's Secret

Giulio's eyes followed Erick as he left the hall. He would have liked to follow him. It was a good moment to talk with the young Captain, and once on the ship, it would be impossible to find a private place.

But his conversation with the new King of the Southern Isles was too important. If Duke Simonyi was going to marry the Queen of Arendelle, the King of a neighbor and aggressive Kingdom could be a valuable ally.

Hans pictured himself as a peace loving man, but it was obvious that he would do whatever he could to maintain his interests. It would be easy to transform him in a thorn in Simonyi's side. The Italian dedicated the rest of the conversation to know the King's character although it was a difficult task since he was an elusive man.

It was late when they finished their conversation. The other Imperial leaders decided that it was time to return to the ship. Giulio looked around trying to find Captain Simonyi in the hall. _Where is that damned hussar?_ He thought while he went out of the Hall.

Once in the hallway, he saw Erick talking with the Captain of the brigantine. Giulio took a briefcase from one of his adjutants and approached both men interrupting their conversation. "Captain Simonyi, may I talk with you a minute?"

Giulio would have preferred a more discreet approach. He had planned to meet with Erick during the visit to the Southern Isles, but the unexpected discovery that there was a new King had made it impossible.

Rollo warily looked at the newcomer fearing a formal reprimand for the conversation with King Hans.

"We have to return to the ship immediately." Erick replied while he held the Italian's eyes.

"It will be a short conversation. Captain Rollo, could you ensure that our horses are ready?" Giulio wanted to get rid of the Captain of the frigate.

Rollo nodded and left them alone.

"Please could you follow me." Giulio said switching to speak Italian to ensure that no servant of the castle would understand them.

"Of course." Erick replied in the same language while he followed Berganza's man.

Giulio located a little empty room and closed the door behind Erick.

"Why do you want to talk with me?" Erick asked.

"It is related to our conversation with King Hans."

"I didn't say anything that wasn't true."

Giulio laughed. "Don't worry. I'm not here to reprimand you about your comments. I refer to my own words in particular when I said that you are the first in the line of succession of the Simonyi's Duchy."

Erick looked at Giulio confused. "I don't follow what you are saying. What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about your duty as a member of the Imperial nobility." The Italian said while he produced some documents from the briefcase. "I would like you to carefully read these papers."

Erick took the documents and started to read them. He realized with surprise they were documents signed by Adrian, his step-brother, relative to certain loans and other documents related with a trade operation. There was also information about the fortification of the city of Trieste one of the greatest naval bases of the Empire.

Erick needed a long time to understand the documents, but Giulio could tell by his expression after reading them that he had obtained the expected result. "Have you understood what these documents say?"

Erick nodded. "Adrian gave a huge amount of money to two middlemen who were supposed to buy wheat in Tunis and sell it to Turkey which was at war with Greece and badly needed an extra supply."

Giulio nodded. "The last winter was extremely hard in Bohemia and Simonyi's cattle suffered. The size of the herds has been reduced and the Duke was looking to find new sources of income."

"But according to the dates of the documents, once the harvest season had passed, he sold some land and borrowed money, a lot of money."

"That money was used to make the second payment to Tunis." Giulio said.

Erick nodded. "Yes. Did my brother buy a second cargo of grain?"

Giulio shook his head. "The middlemen disappeared after receiving the money to buy the grain from your brother and collect from Turkey the payment for a fleet full of grain which never reached its ports. Your brother found himself with the obligation to provide a cargo of grain to Turkey, but without money to buy the grain."

"My brother would have told the Turks to go to hell."

"Then they would have made a formal complaint to the Empire. Although Turkey and the Empire weren't at war, they weren't on good terms. If the details of these transactions were made public, your brother would have been rejected from the court in Vienna and forced to live isolated in your family homestead in Hungary for years."

"But Simonyi's Dukedom is rich! Why did he need to borrow money?"

"Yes. But his wealth is based in land. They produce money only after the harvest and in a limited quantity. The only way to get money is to sell land and selling too much would have raised suspicions. He had to search other options."

Erick looked at the documents again. "But my brother paid twice the quantity he had agreed previously. And signed a promissory note for the same quantity."

"The Tunisians discovered your brother's situation and took advantage of it. They tripled the initial price and your brother had to accept because the harvest season had passed and it was impossible to locate such a huge amount of grain on time."

"And the Turks wouldn't pay a single coin for the grain because the middlemen also received that part."

"There was a little part pending to pay. But the Turks keep it to compensate the delay in the delivery of the grain."

"But that means that he is in bankruptcy. The entire Duchy is in bankruptcy!" Erick exclaimed looking in astonishment at the documents.

"Selling land and borrowing money wasn't enough. Have you studied in detail the books of the upgrade of the military port in Trieste? He was in charge and you will see that the numbers aren't correct. The money destined to build fortifications was used to pay the Tunisian grain for the Turks. And even making that, your brother still owes a third of the amount to the Tunisians."

"That explains why Adrian wants to marry Elsa. He expects to pay his debts with the wealth of Arendelle and avoid being discovered!"

"We figured the same. Your brother always stated his intention to marry a Hungarian noblewoman. He could have unwillingly accepted an Austrian one as substitute. But the Queen of a petty although wealthy Kingdom like Arendelle would have been unacceptable."

Erick looked with mistrust at Giulio. "And why do you show me these documents?"

"Would it be enough for you that I discovered this fortuitously and I decided that you, being first in the line of succession, would be interested in cleaning your house of such filth?"

"If I accept that explanation would you give me that documents? I would promise you that they would be well used."

Giulio couldn't help smiling at Erick's reply. "That information is too important and we want to be sure that it is used in a correct way."

"And what is that correct way; or plainly speaking, what do you want me to do?"

Giulio nodded at the question. What do you think you could do with that information?"

"Ruin my brother's prospects in the court of Vienna. He would retire in dishonor to his lands in Hungary and nobody would see a Simonyi in court until the next generation."

"Wouldn't it be better for your house to replace him? He would have brought disgrace and shame to your lineage."

"Are you talking about depriving him of his title?" Erick laughed." Come on! It isn't so easy to knock down an Imperial Duke. A lot of them have ruined their Duchies and taken money from the Imperial funds and they haven't lost their titles."

"He took a huge amount of money; even being a Duke, it would be difficult for the Emperor to accept it. The money was destined to improve the fortifications of Trieste, a critical base of the Imperial navy. That could be interpreted as treason if it is exposed in the correct way."

"Anyway that's not enough to deprive him of his title." Erick replied.

"We are not talking only about his title. Once he was expelled from Vienna in disgrace, with his honor spoiled and being a pariah, Adrian would have a unique honorable way to follow. After that you will be his heir."

Both men looked at each other in silence for a long time. "May I keep these documents?" Erick asked breaking the silence.

"At its due time." Giulio replied. "Are you with us?"

"I also want to be sure that those documents aren't fakes."

Giulio was uneasy. He had expected that the hussar would have been delighted with the opportunity to make such a move against his brother, the man who had ruined his military career. But he had a feeling that Captain Simonyi was feigning doubts about the authenticity of the documents to gain time to decide what to do with the received information. "Don't you recognize your brother's signature?"

"I want to check on my own what these documents explain." Erick replied.

Giulio nodded. "We will be in Vienna in a few weeks. There you can check whatever you want and we will talk again." The Italian started to put the documents inside the briefcase. "I will keep the documents with me until you make your decision. Don't be a fool. Opportunities like this only happen once in a lifetime.

* * *

"You seem quite excited. Has Berganza's puppet rebuked you very hard?" Rollo said when Erick mounted in the horse at his side. They were in front of the New Palace where the Imperials had gathered to start the ride that would bring them to the docks and their ship.

Erick looked at the Italian nobleman who was getting on a carriage. "I wish he had just rebuked me. He wants me to oust Adrian and inherit the title of Duke."

"What have you been drinking?" The Genoese Captain asked.

Erick explained his conversation with Giulio to Rollo in a few words.

"Could those documents be a fake?" The Captain asked when Erick had finished.

"I doubt it. They were on letterheads of Simonyi's household and had Adrian's signature."

"Do you really believe that you can replace your stepbrother in front of the Duchy?" Rollo asked obviously worried.

Erick shook his head. "It's impossible. An Imperial Duke isn't deprived of his title by things like that and Adrian wouldn't commit suicide unless you force him to cut his veins. But I would like to know what they really want. I don't think that they are so naive to believe that I could replace my brother. They must have another reason and it must be important. If Berganza was discovered, he would also fall in disgrace for doing something like that to a fellow Imperial Duke. "

"Maybe he will fall in disgrace anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"I have heard certain rumors about Berganza. They say that he is very friendly with the Duke of Modena (*) and has contacts with Cavour(**) and even the Carbonarii (***)."

"I heard that he prefers Verdi than Wagner (****), but I don't see the relation with Giulio's explanations."

"Let's imagine that they are preparing an uprising against the Empire. I have heard that there is unrest in Milan. Adrian is a high commander of the army in Italy. If they want the Italian units to defect from the Empire and join the rebellion, an accusation like this against your stepbrother could be of great help."

Erick looked in astonishment at Rollo. "They figure that, having been expelled from the army due to my brother, I would accept to start a war against him and a few weeks ago maybe they would have been right."

Visibly relieved by Erick's words, Rollo went on with his explanations. "He stole the money in the fortifications of Trieste, an Italian city. That would rub salt into the wound."

"They need somebody who accuses Adrian. If I win or lose isn't the point."

"Exactly! And it would be even better for them if you lose. The young Italian Captain who fell in disgrace to protect an Imperial noble. I hope you didn't want to get the title because it's a suicide!"

"The only thing I want from Adrian isn't his title." Erick replied. In fact, at the beginning of the conversation with Giulio Erick had thought that he could use that information to free Elsa of his forced marriage, but there were too many candidates in a row behind Adrian. Using that information would have meant just to replace the Hungarian Duke by another candidate.

_Why do I worry so much?_ Erick thought. He couldn't help thinking in the letters that he had received signed by Anna. The letter assigning him the rank of Captain in Arendelle's army was a great honor, but the other was even more important. Anna said that she would use all her influence and her sister's, who would be a Duchess of the Empire, to avoid his expulsion from the ranks of the Imperial army.

But, not knowing that Anna had written and signed that letters at the request of her elder sister, Erick had thought to tear to pieces both letters and return them to Arendelle. Only the fact that it would have been a slap in the face for the warm Princess of Arendelle stopped him.

"Anna doesn't deserve that reply." Erick said not realizing that he was talking in loud voice. "And that information may be useful for her." He added as he turned and looked for a footman. "Where is Arendelle's ambassador?" He asked to one who was helping the Imperials with their horses.

"He left the Palace a few minutes ago." The man replied.

"And where is his house?"

The man signaled towards the bay. "Near the port in that direction."

Erick turned to face Rollo who had turned pale. "I need your help. Please cover me. I will join the group or return to the ship soon." The hussar said.

"Erick, Are you sure that this is prudent? That information is very sensitive for the Empire. I know that you are very close to Princess Anna. Maybe you have even bedded her, but you are trusting her so much."

Erick couldn't help smiling at Rollo's confusion. "No. If I was sensible, I would talk with Giulio and put my cards on the table, obtain a place as leader of the uprising to get a place in the Italy they want to build and forget Arendelle forever. I could even get the title of Duke in that new Kingdom.

"And what are you going to do?" Rollo asked fearing the answer.

* * *

Rollo rode near the head of the retinue formed by the Imperials returning to the ship. He hadn't stopped muttering curse words against Erick since they had departed from the Palace. Luckily nobody had asked where the young hussar was. Rollo didn't like to lie when somebody could catch him.

The retinue had already crossed the center of the city and was entering the fishing quarter. Erick wasn't the only reason for Rollo to be uneasy. During the route people had gathered along the path followed by the Imperials and they looked at the Imperials in a strange way.

Some were just drunk because several taverns had been paid by the King to distribute free beer to everybody. But others had fierce looks which didn't seem provoked by alcohol. _That fool should have chosen another day to remember that red-headed girl. _Rollo thought warily looking at the crowd.

He had the feeling that something was wrong and there was some kind of danger. Looking around, he saw the harbor master's office which had a great portico at one side. A group of Southern Island soldiers were there. They also looked at the Imperials, but the soldiers just seemed bored. _That office was by the dock. _He thought feeling an urge to be on the ship as soon as possible.

At that moment the column stopped its march. They had to pass a narrow alley that connected the main street with the piers, but a heavy cart full of wood had tried to go through it before. The driver was a little merry and one of its wheels had hit the wall breaking and leaving the cart stuck blocking the pass.

Two men were over the pile of logs handling them to other men in order to unload the cargo and move the cart. They were joking and laughing while working and it was easy to see that the driver wasn't the only one who had enjoyed King Hans' generosity with beer. The Officer of the Southern Isles who commanded the escort was talking with one of the men on the cart who seemed to be the leader of the group.

Rollo approached the officer. He didn't understand Norwegian, but it was obvious that the officer asked them to remove the obstacle and the man replied that it wasn't an easy task.

The fishing quarter was a maze of narrow streets and they would have to make a long detour to reach the docks through another path, but Rollo was sure that it would be the best option. He was about to talk to the officer when an Imperial cuirassier clad in his completely white uniform approached and said in French that the officer to remove the obstacle quickly.

The officer was about to reply but the man on the cart spoke first. He spoke in a sneering tone of voice and the men who were working with him burst into laughter. Although the cuirassier hadn't understood a single word of Norwegian, the meaning was obvious.

"Tell this man to shut up or I will teach him good manners." The cuirassier told to the officer In such a menacing tone of voice that the man on the cart, even not speaking French, also fully understood the reply and scornfully spat in front of the cuirassier's horse.

Before Rollo could intervene the Imperial hit the man's face with his riding whip. The crowd uttered a collective murmur of outrage and Rollo quickly advanced to interpose himself between both men, but the other worker who was on the cart by the man hit jumped over the cuirassier and both men fell to the ground. The other men around the cart left the logs they were carrying and pounced on the Imperial.

Rollo and the Southern Isles officer dismounted and tried to extricate the cuirassier from the group of men around him who were kicking him. Rollo caught a short and gaunt man by the shirt and pushed him away. The man didn't try to approach the group again, instead he took a stone from the ground and threw it against the Genoese.

Although Rollo ducked, the stone grazed his head and he could feel the blood sliding on his cheek. He ignored it and went on helping the officer to push back the group which was still kicking the Imperial who fruitlessly tried to get up. The man who threw the stone took another one and raised his arm to throw it.

"No!" Rollo shouted seeing an Imperial hussar who had put his horse into a quick gallop and was drawing his saber.

But it was too late; the hussar, the same hussar who had played the piano the day of the conference, passed by the man who still held the stone in his hand and hit him in the head. He used the flat of the sword and the man fell unconscious, but the crowd saw a man being hit in the head and falling to the ground as if he was dead.

"Why would you do that, you idiot!" Rollo was shouting to the hussar when he heard a yell which was interrupted by the sound of a hit. He turned to see that one of the workers, a tall and broad shouldered man with only one eye, furious by the supposed death of his companion, had gotten an axe from the cart and hit the cuirassier's neck. The tool wasn't as sharp as a weapon, but the hit had been strong enough to break the spine and the Imperial was choking with his own blood which filled his mouth and nose and shed over the white fabric of his jacket..

A second man charged against Rollo with another axe. Rollo dodged the cutting edge jumping aside as he drew his knife. The man raised again his weapon while his companion, who had killed the cuirassier, extracted his weapon from the dying Imperial.

The Southern Isles officer tried to stop the one eyed man. The officer shouted something in Norwegian but the man was beside himself, due to beer and the supposed death of his companion, and hit him in the belly with the axe. The soldier was so surprised that he wasn't able to parry and bent over. Before he could react the man chopped his back as if he was chopping wood. Once the officer was on the ground by the cuirassier the man turned to face Rollo, and making a sign to his companion, began to approach the Genoese Captain.

Rollo stepped back trying to avoid being encircled by them. At that moment, the hussar who had knocked out the stone thrower, passed by them again and hit one of the men. This time he didn't use the flat of the sword and a surge of blood spread from the back of his head where the saber had hit.

Seeing that he was alone against two Imperials, the one eyed axeman fled running behind the cart. Rollo looked around and saw that the crowd had jumped over the Imperials. An infantry officer of an Austrian regiment had been dismounted from his horse and torn apart with knifes and sickles. A hussar tried to help him just to be wounded in the arm by a scythe. He tried to withdraw, but his horse was surrounded and a dozen of hands pulled him out of his saddle.

Here and there the Imperials gathered in little groups and tried to keep at bay the crowd that surrounded them. When an Imperial was dismounted, he was quickly killed with improvised weapons.

"Mount!" The hussar who had killed one of the axemen shouted. "We have to reach the docks and get to the ship."

"We will never reach the docks!" Rollo replied while he got up his horse. "Let's go to the harbor master's office. Those soldiers will protect us!" He shouted remembering the officer who had died trying to stop the axeman.

The nearest group of Imperials heard him and charged against the crowd towards the building. They had drawn their swords and sabers and used them as if they were in the midst of a battle. Rollo and the hussar urged their horses to join them. _Where are you stupid boy?_ The Imperial Captain thought thinking about Erick.

* * *

**NA: **Hi everyboy,

Wayward, thank you for the compliments about my improving English, but all the merit is for Lauren the Beta Reader who makes a great work correcting my gramatical errors (and rewriting a lot of phrases). She has revised only some chapters and that's the reason because you see an improvement, you reached the revised ones. Good look in your studies, I hope that you get what you wants and don't worry I will update nex saturday. The next chapter title will be "The End of an Imperial" (I recognize that putting the title is a wicked way to reply your comments about Erick's future, but I couldn't help it :)

See you in Arendelle

* * *

**Historic notes:**

(*) **The Duke of Modena**, Francis IV (6 October 1779 21 January 1846) , was an ambitious noble, and he hoped to become king of Northern Italy by increasing his territory. In 1826, Francis made it clear that he would not act against those who subverted opposition toward the unification of Italy.

(**) **Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of ****Cavour****, ****Isolabella**** and Leri** (10 August 1810 6 June 1861), generally known as **Cavour** was an Italian statesman and a leading figure in the movement toward Italian unification. He was the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. After the declaration of a united Kingdom of Italy, Cavour took office as the first Prime Minister of Italy

(***)The **Carbonari** (Italian for "charcoal burners") were groups of secret revolutionary societies founded in early 19th-century Italy. Members of the Carbonari, and those influenced by them took part in important events in the process of Italian unification (called the _Risorgimento__)._

(****) The Italian nationalist used Verdi as a symbol of his fight for Italy's independence because the name of the famous musician stands for Vittorio Emmanuele Re d´Italia which means Vittorio Emmanuele King of Italy (Vittorio Emanuelle II was the King of Sardinia and became the first King of the unified Italy). Here Erick is playing with the political meaning of the name Verdi opposed to the symbol of Wagner a German musician.


	64. The End of an Imperial

"It will be sent to Arendelle tomorrow morning." Jens, Arendelle's ambassador in the Southern Isles, said when he took the envelope from Erick's hand. He was in his carriage talking with the Imperial hussar who was on his horse by the window of the carriage. They were stopped in the middle of a great avenue which bordered the Fishing Quarter. The little palace of the Ambassador was at a short distance.

"Is it a personal missive for Princess Anna?" The Ambassador asked raising his eyebrows.

"It's confidential." Erick replied smiling at the question of the Ambassador. "And it must be delivered to Princess Anna or Queen Elsa." He had written a quick letter explaining Adrian's bankruptcy and the things he had done to get money, including taking money from the fortifications of Trieste.

"I will make sure that it is delivered to one of them." Jens studied the envelope as if he was trying to deduce its contents. The letter was sealed, and on the wax, a rampant unicorn was clearly visible.

"I had read that the symbol of house Simonyi is a rampant lion."

"You are well informed." Erick laughed. "But it is the symbol of the Hungarian main house. The Italian branch has a unicorn. Legend, rumors or gossip said that the founder of our branch settled in Italy due to a woman and took the unicorn as symbol."

"It's a delightfully appropriate symbol." Jens replied with a broad smile on his face and putting Erick's letter in one of the pockets of his jacket.

"Thank you. Ensure that it is delivered to Princess Anna or Queen Elsa. I must return with my group.

"Don't worry." Jens replied looking how the hussar went through a narrow street towards the docks.

One man, who had been waiting while Erick was with the ambassador approached the window. He was clad in an Arendelle's guards uniform with the stripes of sergeant on his shoulders.

"Henrick!" What are you doing here?" Jens asked in surprise when he saw him. The sergeant was the man in charge of his security and he had remained in the Ambassador's palace since it wasn't considered polite to bring your own soldiers to an official reception. Three more men, also clad in Arendelle uniforms, followed him.

"One of our men in the city came to the palace to inform us that people gather in the taverns. They were talking about the grave affront against the country's pride suffered in Arendelle due to King Konrad's imprisonment, and how they could take revenge. I thought that they would be too busy drinking, but I decided to seek you."

"Henrick, you are as protective as an old broody hen with her chicks. Someday you" Jens words were interrupted by a sudden uproar coming from behind a great building near the street into which Erick had disappeared. "The Imperial!" The ambassador said as he quickly opened the carriage door and got out. "We have to help the man who was talking with me."

Henrick looked at Jens' uniform. He was clad also in Arendelle's guards uniform and it was easy to see that he was an officer. "Do you believe that it is sensible? We should return to the Palace and bar the gate before that bunch of drunks think of us.

"I have orders to help that man and leaving him in the hands of a mob isn't the way to help anybody." Jens replied while he purposefully strode towards the direction of the clamor. Henrick sighed, made a sign to his men, and overtook the Ambassador.

While the group went into the narrow streets of the Fishing Quarter, they could hear a terrified neigh and shouts coming from behind the building.

"Don't let him go inside." One voice shouted.

"I ll catch him. Help me to…" Somebody replied, but his words were interrupted by a sudden yell.

"Surround the place don't let him go out!" Another voice ordered.

"Kill him! Kill him!"

The men from Arendelle reached a small square behind the great building. A horse was laying on the ground in the middle of a pool of blood. Somebody had driven a pitchfork in his chest and the animal was dying.

"It's Captain Simonyi's horse. They attacked him and he must have sought shelter there." The ambassador said looking at a group of twenty or thirty men who were trying to enter at the same time into a bakery at one side of the square.

"And it seems that that man is the one who tried to catch him." Henrick added nodding towards a man on his fours a few meters apart of the door of the bakery. His jacket was covered in stains of blood.

"Stop!" Jens shouted. Everybody fell silent surprised by the sudden apparition of five soldiers of Arendelle with their hands on the hilt of their swords. The only noise was the fading neigh of the fallen horse, the moaning of the man on his four and sounds of combat coming from inside the bakery.

"Go away immediately. This man has nothing to do with your King's imprisonment." Jens said in a commanding tone of voice. The mob hesitated. They were more than three times the numbers of soldiers but the guards seemed determined and well-armed.

"Help this man!" The ambassador ordered pointing at the man in front of the bakery. Two men of the Southern Isles helped the man to stand up. When he raised they could see that a great slash crossed his face. His left check hung from his lower jaw and it was possible to see his tongue moving inside his mouth.

Jens approached the wounded man. "My god! Bring this man to a doctor! And the rest of you leave this place." He ordered.

"Yes. Yes. Leave my bakery alone and take that black devil out of my shop." A gaunt and short man seconded Jens' words. He was the baker who had seen how the Imperial had entered in his shop followed by a lot of inhabitants of the Fishing Quarter who had gone mad after the news of the massacre of Imperials near the docks.

A shout of agony came from inside the bakery and the sounds of combat went on. _The Imperial is guarding his life dearly_. Henrick thought. For a second it seemed that Jens was about to make it. The calm and commanding figure of Arendelle's ambassador combined with the cries of agony from the bakery when the Imperial got rid of another adversary dampened the initial enthusiasm of the mob.

But in that moment another group of a dozen of men armed with improvised weapons from plundered shops that had heard about the trapped Imperial appeared in the square. They saw the man with the wound on his face and Jens clad in his Arendelle's guard uniform in front of him.

"The soldiers from Arendelle are helping the stranger! They are in cahoots!" One of the leaders said, assuming that Jens had attacked the wounded man to frighten the rest of the group.

Jens, who had gone ahead of the guards to talk with the mob, was instantly surrounded by enemies. Henrick leaped forward trying to protect him. One man got in his way armed with an axe, but the guardsman just deflected the axe with his sword and hit the man's arm with a quick backhand stroke without even stopping.

A boy, no more that sixteen years old, armed with a rusty sickle attacked Jens. The ambassador stopped the improvised weapon with the guard of his sword and knocked down the youngster with a hard punch. A man raised a huge axe with both hands to deliver a blow which would have split Jens' head in two, but the Ambassador quickly turned and gave a slash to the man's abdomen who dropped his weapon.

Another tried to stab Jens by the back with a long butcher's knife while he was busy with his comrade, but Henrick arrived just in time to stop him with his sword. The hand still holding the knife fell to the ground and the man fell to his knees holding the stump of his right arm.

"Jens! We have to…" Henrick began to say but stopped talking to lunge and pierced the belly of a man who was too close to the Ambassador with a pick in his hands. While recovering his sword, Henrick saw that the youngster who had been knocked had recovered and was raising his sickle.

The guardsman tried to hit him with the point of the sword. But Jens who was dealing with two adversaries was in the middle and the point of the sword just scratched the boy's temple. The rusty crescent-shaped blade stuck into Jen's belly.

The Ambassador turned pale and dropped his sword. Henrick held him before he fell to the ground and dragged him away. Luckily two of his men had followed him in his rush forward and could protect him and the wounded. Although, once the ambassador of Arendelle had been cut down, the mob seemed to lose any interest in the soldiers of Arendelle, they were too many and too dangerous, and centered their attention in the bakery with the Imperial trapped inside.

Henrick and his three men, carrying Jens, quickly retraced their steps across the Fishing Quarter until they reached the carriage in the main avenue. Once they put the Ambassador in the carriage, Henrick looked at his men. One of the guards had been wounded on his left arm, a superficial wound, another had one lung punctured by a carpenter's burin and expelled blood when breathing.

Henrick entered into the carriage and tore Jens' shirt seeing the pink shine of his bowels.

"It looks bad. Doesn't it?" Jens asked.

Henrick nodded. "You won't see the sun raising." He just replied.

"Try to save the Imperial." The Ambassador said.

"Are you crazy? That mob almost killed us all."

"Princess Anna's orders. Please, send a man to call the guards of the city."

Henrick nodded. "Don't worry. You must rest."

"In a few hours I will rest for a long time." Jens retorted with a wry smile on his pale face.

Henrick got down from the carriage. Unnoticed, a letter sealed with the symbol of a rampant unicorn, which had fallen from Jens jacket when he had ripped it, fell to the ground from the carriage.

The guard with a punctured lung was also seated inside the carriage and one of the servants get in to take care of the wounded.

"Send a man to fetch the doctor. " Henrick ordered to the driver. "And another to the city guard to warn the soldiers." He added while he took off his coat of Arendelle's guard.

"What are you doing Henrick?" The driver asked.

"I'm going to do a foolish thing. Give me your jacket." The guard put on the driver's jacket which was a common jacket without any official distinctive. "I hope that Princess Anna had good reasons to protect that man."

* * *

The horse was already dead and the man wounded in the face had disappeared when Henrick entered the little square again. The guard of Arendelle moved among the mob without uttering a single word. _If they recognize my accent from Arendelle I will be trading jokes with poor Jens tomorrow morning. _The sergeant thought while approaching the bakery.

Three men were talking in front of the building.

"We can't enter, he blocked the damned door." One of them, a tall man with long and unkempt black hair said.

"Why did you flee from him? You were five against one." Another, a fat man with little piggy eyes and his forehead covered with sweat, asked to a third.

"That foreigner is very clever. He found a corner between the baker's oven and a wall. It was impossible to surround him and we had to attack one by one." The man replied. He was a wiry man with a long cut that crossed the back of his jacket. The slash had only cut his clothes, but it was obvious that the man was lucky to be alive.

"Why didn't you wait in the bakery until we could enter with something long? His sword would have been useless against two pitchforks." The tall man with long black hair asked.

"Because he jumped on us when he had already killed two of us one by one. I escaped by the skin of my teeth from being killed by him." The wiry man replied.

"Do you mean that you fleed leaving your companion alone and giving him the opportunity to bar the door?" The fat man asked with a sneering tone of voice.

"What would you have done? He killed one of us throwing a huge knife with white handle before we could even move. You should have helped us. Why did you and your men just stand outside listening to the explanations of the soldier from Arendelle?"

The fat man seemed embarrassed. "Er... I..." He muttered in a barely audible voice.

"You have been always a…" the man with the long black hair said, but he suddenly stopped talking for a moment before going on. Fire! Somebody has set fire to the bakery!" The man exclaimed.

He was right. Smoke came out through the windows of the bakery and it was possible to see blazes of fire inside the building.

"Who started that fire?" The wiry man with the slash on his back shouted.

The mob, which surrounded the burning building, watched in expectation as the flames increased, engulfed the entire building and spread to the contiguous houses, which being made of old and dry wood, were a good fuel and were quickly ablaze.

Impotent, Henrick was among them watching as the flames spread. He tried to see any sign of the imperial and asked inwardly when the ward of the city would come. He didn't know that the entire guard was in the harbor master's office protecting the bulk of the Imperials.

"Look! He is there on the upper floor." One voice suddenly shouted.

The bakery was in a two-story building with lower houses around it. In one of the windows of the upper story, there was a figure clad in black. It quickly disappeared and appeared again in another window.

"He is looking for an escape." A voice said.

"Jump boy! We will catch you with our arms wide open." Another laughed.

Everybody began to laugh and, raising their improvised weapons, encouraged the hussar, who was barely visible through smoke and heat, to jump.

Henrick noticed that the figure in the windows seemed to move clumsily as if he didn't control his movements. _The smoke is affecting him. _The guard thought. He looked for a possible escape for the Imperial, but it was a hopeless situation. The windows facing the square were controlled by the members of the mob which raised their improvised weapons every time they saw the black figure. Some windows faced the roof of contiguous houses, but they were ablaze. _Jumping from those windows would be a way to put an end to his misery._

As if he had heard Henrick's thoughts, the dark figure jumped from the window to the roof below which broke under his weight. Hearing the sound of the body hitting the ground and seeing the flames raising through the hole as if they were receiving the Imperial, the mob uttered a shout of savage joy.

* * *

N.A: Hi everybody,

I agree with you Wayward. It could have been another Imperial.

See you in Arendelle


	65. Count Erling

Paul Erling, Count of Eastmark, had been locked for hours up in his room hearing the coronation ceremony and the subsequent party. He had been arrested that very afternoon, just after the arrival of Hans followed by Count Valsrom and his puppets. He hadn't expected his arrest because he wasn't powerful enough, but Valsrom seemed to have a very different opinion about him.

An hour after the Imperials had left the Palace, a lieutenant of cuirassiers came to his room to fetch him and take him to the old keep. The lieutenant, a man as tall and broad-shouldered as a cuirassier was supposed to be, who was clad in the white jacket and navy blue trousers of the Westergard cuirassiers squadron, brought him to the open space in front of the New Palace where a carriage surrounded by ten troopers of the same squadron awaited the Count.

The mounted soldiers glared at the Count's completely white uniform of the Eastmark's cuirassiers. Twenty years ago, during the wars that had meant the end of Eastmark independence, the Eastmark's cuirassiers had nearly exterminated their Southern Isles' counterparts. Since that day, although the Eastmark unit had been included in the Southern Isles' army, a bitter rivalry had remained between both squadrons.

"Get in Captain" The lieutenant ordered the Count.

Erling mounted and the carriage and its escort started its short trip to the old keep. The lieutenant led the group, one cuirassier rode at each side of the carriage to watch the doors which had no locks, and the eight remaining cuirassiers brought up the rear in a column two abreast.

The curtains of the windows of the carriage were drawn to keep the prisoner unaware of where they were. That deprived the Count of any distraction and he couldn't help meditating about his future. He would spend a long time in a gentle confinement until the King and Count Valsrom decided that an uprising in Eastmark wouldn't be a danger.

_Unless they think that my cousin would be a more docile Lord of Eastmark. _Erling thought. His cousin was the first in the line of succession of the county, he would be grateful, if he inherited the county and the old keep had a long tradition of unhealthiness when the prisoners in its dungeons were a trouble to the King.

The Count was so engrossed in such thoughts, that when the carriage suddenly stopped, he believed that he had lost track of time and they had already arrived to the keep. He approached the window of his improvised jail on wheels and drew back the curtain of the left windows to peek out. A group of nearby houses were ablaze and the flames raised over the floors of the little wooden buildings.

_What the hell is happening? _He thought looking at the street illuminated by the red glow of the fire. Although he was surprised, he noticed that they were on a broad avenue near the Embassy of Arendelle.

_Maybe Arendelle's ambassador could protect me. _Erling thought. _He's bold enough to face Valsrom, but I should find a good reason to convince him to do so._

He noticed that the cuirassier who was guarding the left door of the carriage had stopped his horse two meters ahead instead of in front of the door because he was distracted by the burning buildings. The Count could put his head out the window and saw the leader of his escort talking with a lieutenant of hussars who was leading a patrol.

"The rabble went crazy and attacked the Imperials near the Harbor Master Office. Many members of the Imperial retinue have been killed and others have scattered in little groups trying to escape from the mob." The hussar said.

"And who had started that fire?" The cuirassier asked looking at the fire in the Fishing Quarter.

"A group of hotheads caught an Imperial and they were stupid enough to set the house where he had sought shelter ablaze. The Imperial finally jumped from a window, but he was burned alive anyway. The fire has spread to the other houses and now we have to deal with the fire and rescuing as many Imperials as possible."

"How could they have been so stupid to do that?" The cuirassier replied in astonishment. The Norwegian cities, mainly built with wood, suffered from time to time devastating fires. It was difficult to believe that Norwegian people had started one.

While he listened to the conversation between both cavalrymen, Count Erling realized that the carriage had stopped right in front of one of the narrow streets of the Fishing Quarter. It was a small street, which joined the great avenue in which they were.

The small street ended, one hundred meters away, in a steep staircase. The Fishing Quarter had been built in a hilly area by the sea and that explained its intricate street network which followed the rough terrain.

_If I reached the stairs before the guards catch me, they couldn't follow me with the horses and I would have an opportunity to escape. _Erling thought, although he hesitated. If he failed, it would mean his death sentence_._ At that moment one of the burning buildings collapsed and the sudden noise made rear up the horse of the cuirassier who was watching the door in the opposite side of the carriage.

_I prefer to depend on my quickness than on my cousin's meekness. _The Count thought as he opened the door, jumped out of the carriage, and started to run as quick as he could towards the staircase. The cuirassier who was at the left side of the carriage heard him, but he was too far away and had to turn his horse before chasing him.

As Erling had thought, the eight cuirassiers who were following the carriage were watching at the efforts of their comrade in the right side of the carriage to control his horse. That gave the count a few invaluable seconds.

But one of the cuirassiers realized that the prisoner was escaping and put his horse in a quick gallop behind him. The count didn't need to look back to know that he was being chased, he could hear the sounds of hooves over the stone pavement behind him.

He gritted his teeth while forcing his legs through the few meters between him and the stairs. The sound of hooves resounded in the street making him feel that the long sword of the cuirassier was about to hit him. When the Count began to go up the steep stairs the sound of hooves suddenly stopped. He ducked just in time to dodge the slash which would have smashed his head.

He went on climbing the stairs. Behind him the cuirassier dismounted his horse and followed him. Other cuirassiers entered the narrow street following their comrade.

_He is too close. If I don't get rid of him I can't disappear in the streets._ The count thought as he reached the top of the stairs when he saw a large empty and half broken barrel near the end of the stairs.

The stairs were too narrow to dodge the barrel, and it swept the cuirassier down the stairs over some of his companions who had begun to climb the steps. The fugitive disappeared in the labyrinthine streets of the Fishing Quarter, but he could hear the orders shouted by the lieutenant to his men to follow him, and the sound of hooves of the cuirassiers and hussars who were chasing him.

_With this damned white uniform I'm like a lantern which will attract soldiers instead of moths. _The count thought as he turned a corner.

* * *

The little square was dark and deserted. Once the mob was satisfied with the deathly jump of the Imperial to the flames, they had left the place and the people who lived in the surrounding houses had organized to extinguish the fire. Once they had finished, they had been rounded up by Southern isles soldiers who were organizing people to fight against the spreading fire in other buildings in the nearby streets. So the dead horse laying on the ground with a pitchfork in his chest was the only testimony of the events that had happened shortly before.

The building with a bakery in its lower floor had burned to the ground. The upper floor had collapsed and the wooden debris had burned until everything was reduced to ashes and smoking remains of charred beams. The only object that remained intact was the great round shaped masonry oven of the bakery which stood on the lower floor. It had been designed to retain the heat inside and the fire hadn't damaged it.

Suddenly a muffled hit sounded in the quiet place. It was followed by another and another until the metallic door of the oven began to open. There was half-burned pieces of wood piled in front of it that made impossible to completely open it, but after several shoves a charred beam that blocked the door broke and allowed to open a narrow gap.

A man slowly crawled out through the aperture gulping great lungfuls of cold night air. His jacket ripped on a nail which stood out from one of the beams, and made a bleeding gash on the man's side, but he didn t seem to notice it. He laboriously went on his hands and knees through the debris burning his hands. He finally got out of the remains of the building, and panting, reached a great pool of water in the square.

The man soaked his head and his bruised hands with the water and tried to stand up, but he was too weak and fell to the ground. He stayed face-upwards in the middle of the pool of water, his face turned towards the moon which gleamed in the night sky.

He kept still in that position for a long time trying to catch his breath. He had just stopped panting when he heard sounds of people running. The man raised, and still staggering, hid among the remains of the burned building.

Count Erling, clad in his white uniform, ran into the little square and stopped in the middle of the square. He hesitated for a second about the right direction, and before he could make a decision, a couple of mounted hussars appeared in one of the streets. The Count turned trying to flee, but two Westergard cuirassiers who had been following him reached the square and leaped on him.

Although Erling was unarmed, he caught the sword arm of one of the cuirassiers with his bare hand and gave him a hard punch in the face. But the other soldier hit him in the back of his head with the hilt of his sword. The fugitive fell to the ground on his four and the soldier who had been hit on the face began to kick him while his companion laughed at the angry reaction.

One of the hussars approached the group. "Don't hurt him too much. Valsrom will want to decide what he wants to…" The hussar stopped talking suddenly and looked in astonishment at the long knife with white ivory carved handle which was stuck in his side.

The cuirassier who wasn't kicking at Erling tried to raise his sword in a combat position, but the man who had leaped on them from the burned building was too quick and gave a hard stroke with his saber which made a great slash on the cuirassier's face.

The other cuirassier turned to face the unexpected enemy, but the Count, who had been receiving his kicks, quickly reacted and kicked the man's knee. There was an awful cracking and the Soldier of the Southern Isles fell yelling to the ground.

The remaining hussar turned his horse and rode away as he shouted for help.

Erling looked at the man who had helped him who was recovering his long knife from the dead hussar. He expected to find one of his men who had come to rescue him, but he saw a complete stranger clad in the typical clothing of a dock worker, although his clothes and hair were half burned.

The stranger talked to him in a language that he didn't initially understand until he realized that he was speaking in German, but with an accent very different from the Prussian accent that he was used to hearing from the merchantmen and noblemen that visited Eastmark.

"What's your name comrade? I'm Captain Simonyi of the thirteen of hussars. Do you know why people and soldiers are attacking us?" the stranger asked.

Erling realized that the hussar thought that he was an Imperial cuirassier. In the dim light of the moon, it was easy to mistake Erling's totally white uniform for the also white uniform of their Imperial counterparts

"I'm not an Imperial cuirassier, but Count Erling, Captain of Eastmark's cuirassiers. Thank you for your help."

The Imperial was taken aback by the sudden revelation and looked at the gray lapels, the only part of the Count's uniform which wasn't white. "You are also a soldier of the Southern Isles!"

"Against my will, take my word for it." The count replied raising. "We must leave. There are more soldiers chasing me, and since one of them has escaped they will know that you have killed two of them." Erling said hiding from Erick that being an Imperial, the Southern Isles soldiers would have defended him.

The Imperial didn't seem convinced but he looked at the dead hussar and cuirassier. "I suppose you are right."

The Count of Eastmark was quite sure that the soldiers would have protected the Imperial even after the death of their comrades. And he was absolutely sure that Valsrom would have been delighted to use the death of both cavalrymen as example of the Southern Isles' good will during the massacre of the Imperials. So he would have soothed the predictable Imperial anger. But he preferred to keep Erick at his side. A swordsman like him would be invaluable in the hours to come until he reached a safe haven.

"Follow me! I know where we will find shelter." The count said as he began to walk.

Erick warily looked at him, but finally, after giving a final glance to the three dead soldiers, he shrugged and followed the Count. They quickly moved through the narrow streets moving away from the burned bakery.

"Do you know where you are going?" Erick asked when the Count hesitated about what path to follow in a fork.

"No." The man sincerely replied as he made a decision choosing one of the streets. "A Count is not supposed to know the streets of the Fishing Quarter. I have some basic knowledge of the streets around the best whorehouses, but they are far away from here and there are too many officers."

Erick smiled. "I see that Norwegian officers behave similar to Imperial officers."

The Count chuckled. "Yes. Speaking of Imperial officers, if you are the Captain of a hussar regiment, why aren t you wearing an Imperial uniform?" The Count asked gazing at Erick's clothing which was the typical clothing of a Norwegian lower class man.

"I was trapped in a bakery with a mob outside that wanted to kill me. After exchanging my uniform with one of them who had snuck in the house, I set the house ablaze to create a distraction and threw the man with my uniform through a window of the upper floor to convince the mob that I was dead. After that I returned to the lower floor to take shelter in the great oven of the bakery. I hoped that I could survive to the burning of the building." The voice of the hussar trembled. "Luckily there was a chimney that connected the inside of the oven with the outside, so I didn't suffocate to death."

The Count looked at Erick. His skin was red due to the heat and the hair on the right side of his head was burned, showing a great scar on the temple. "You were the Imperial who had been trapped! You started a fire that could destroy the entire city!" He exclaimed.

"I'm sorry but my neck was at stake."

"You are right in that." The count nodded. "The house of a merchantman from Eastmark is near. He is a friend of mine and will help us." He said turning a corner when he suddenly stopped and quickly stepped back pushing Erick.

"What s wrong?"

"There is a group of armed men. We'll have to find another way to the house of my friend while they are busy."

"What do you mean busy?" Erick said as he approached the corner and took a peek.

There were three men at a junction. The little space was littered with dead men and horses. Erick recognized some Imperial uniforms, mainly from Italian regiments, among the bodies on the ground. The three men were around a fountain in one of the corners. It was a little fish-shaped fountain with the water pouring from the mouth of the fish and falling in a great shell of stone.

The three men were laughing and joking while they submerged the head of a man completely clad in white in the shell full of water.

"What are you going to do?" Erling asked grasping the arm of Erick who was drawing his sword.

"He is an Imperial." Erick just replied.

"Are you crazy? The nearby streets are full of their comrades. If they discover us you will be condemned for being an Imperial and I from being from Eastmark."

"You don't have to wait for me. Good luck Count Erling." Erick replied while he drew his saber and began to silently approach to the fountain and the men around it.

The three men hadn't the slightest opportunity against a well-trained soldier. Erick killed two of them before the third was able to react. And the hit he gave with his hoe was easily deflected by the hussar who replied with a quick slash to the neck which killed the man.

Erick helped the Imperial cuirassier to get his head out of the water and sit by the fountain. The man was half drowned and spat a great amount of water before he could breathe again.

"Simonyi? Is that you?" Von Leep, the wounded cuirassier, exclaimed in astonishment when he saw the face of his savior.

Erick was examining a deep wound in the Austrian's abdomen, and shook his head. "Von Leep, your wounds are serious, but what are you doing here?"

"We were attacked near the docks. I joined the group of Berganza's men in an attempt to escape from the mob, but we were cornered in this junction and they butchered us."

"Do you know if Rollo is alive?"

Von Leep shook his head. "I don't know. When they attacked us, I was in the rear with Berganza's men and the Captain of the brigantine was in the front."

* * *

The Count of Eastmark was still waiting for Erick in the adjacent street. Erick had quickly killed his opponents and, after talking with the Imperial cuirassier, had started to check the other dead Imperials as if he was searching for somebody. Finally, as if he had found what he had been looking for, Erick returned by the cuirassier in white uniform.

At that moment the Count heard steps approaching. He looked at Erick, but he seemed so engrossed talking with the cuirassier that he didn't hear anything.

* * *

"Simonyi, give me some water." Von Leep asked when Erick returned at his side.

"With that wound in your belly, it is not a good idea."

"Do you really believe that drinking water will mean any difference?"

Erick shook his head and filled the cuirassier's steel helmet with the water from the fountain. Von Leep swallowed the water as if he was trying to extinguish a fire inside him.

"Simonyi I don't like you." Von Leep said when he had drunk all the water. "But I dislike your brother and Berganza even more." Von Leep s explanations were interrupted by a sudden nausea followed by a vomit of mixed blood and water.

The man was about to fade but he managed to went on. "You should know that Berganza helped your brother to ruin your military career. He provided him the necessary contacts to block your access to the hussar regiments."

"That is impossible. My brother would never had accepted Berganza's help. He knows that a favor like that must be returned."

"I was the middleman, your brother didn't know that Berganza provided the contacts. I don't know why the Italian wanted to ruin your career." Von Leep answered.

Erick looked in astonishment at the dying cuirassier. Now he understood how Adrian had been able to ruin his military career and realized that Berganza had helped him stir up the animosity between both of them.

"Look out! Behind you!" Von Leep suddenly shouted. But the hussar was so astonished by what he had heard that, before he could react, a strong blow hit his head and everything faded into black.

* * *

N.A. Hi everybody

Thank you for your comments abnormal trio. When I finally wrote so many chapters with only Erick (Initially his adventures in Westergard where supposed to be only two chapters, but it took a lot of time to describe what happened in a proper maner) I feared that the story would lost interest. At least somebody seems to like it. ;)

See you in Arendelle


	66. A Soldier of Arendelle

Erick's head seemed filled like it was with needles, and every time he moved he felt thousands of little stabs of pain. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. The Imperial was stretched out on a hard bed in a dark, musty room. The only source of light was a lamp, with its shutters almost closed, on the floor. The light was so dim that Erick wasn't able to see the walls of the room.

_This seems like a dungeon._ Erick thought, but then he realized that Count Erling was sitting on a blanket spread out on the ground. Erick tried to raise, but his head seemed about to explode.

"Take it easy. You took a hard blow to the head. In fact, you recovered earlier than expected. The doctor said that you were so battered by the fire and the hit had been so hard that you would be unconscious until at least tonight, he even said that you may not wake up again."

"What doctor?" Erick asked massaging his temples and feeling that the myriad of little stabs was replaced by two acute stabs centered in the sides of his head. He realized that he was over a great block made of stone. There were two more blocks one at the left and the other at the right.

"The one I asked to examine you before we left the city"

"Left the city?" Erick looked confused at the Count. "What happened? Who hit me?"

"A friend of the three men you killed returned and didn't like what you had done to his friends. Do you remember I warned you about armed people prowling the nearby streets? You were lucky that he was only armed with a club, or else he would have done something worse to your head before I could kill him."

"Did you kill him?"

"Yes. And dragged you to the house of that nearby friend I told you about."

"What happened to the other Imperial?"

"The half - drowned cuirassier? I could only carry one of you. Two servants of my friend fetched him, but his wound was mortal and he was already dead when they found him. I'm sorry. Was he a friend of yours?"

"No. In fact, we hated each other." Erick couldn't help asking himself if the Count had really sent somebody to fetch Von Leep. It was true that the cuirassier was about to die, but the idea of an Imperial, even Von Leep, dying alone in that dark and filthy junction was very unpleasant to him.

Erling raised his eyebrows. "You treat your enemies very well."

"He was an Imperial." Erik laconically replied. "Speaking of Imperials, do you know what happened to the others?"

"About forty of them were killed." Erling replied.

Erick's eyes widened in surprise. "So many?"

"Yes. There were some groups of Imperials which hadn't been included in the celebrations of the castle, but had gone to the Fishing Quarter to pay a visit to its taverns and whorehouses. After their stance in Arendelle, they wanted to enjoy the pleasures of a great city, but they were also attacked."

"Where are the survivors?"

"They have left the city. Now it is about five o'clock in the afternoon, so the Imperial brigantine left the harbor an hour ago. You have been unconscious for a long time and they wanted to leave Westergard as quick as possible.

"Did the King let them go?"

"Of course, he and Valsrom desperately wanted to smooth the Empire's reaction. It seems that they weren't involved in the attack after all and it was a spontaneous populist uprising.

Erick nodded. The night before, Erling had said that the Southern Isles' soldiers would have killed him. Maybe he was wrong and acted in good faith, but Erick didn't trust him.

"I know that I told you the soldiers would chase you. But you were without your uniform and, after killing two of their comrades, being killed by them was a real danger. It would have been easy for the soldiers to kill you and argue that you didn't look like an Imperial." Erling said guessing his thoughts.

"Don't worry about that. Where are we now?"

"Out of the city. We must wait until it gets dark. Tonight, some of my men will come with horses to go with us to Eastmark. There you will take a ship towards Copenhagen or Hamburg. Unless you prefer not to go with me and return to Westergard. If the crown wasn't involved in the attack on the Imperials, I'm sure that King Hans and Count Valsrom would treat you well, but I would prefer you to come with me."

Erick remembered the King and their last conversation, which hadn't been friendly. He was convinced that predicting King Hans' reactions wouldn t be easy, and he had tried to kill Anna and Elsa. Besides he was sure that the Count had a good reason to ask him to accompany him and he wanted to know what it was. "I will try Eastmark." He finally said.

"Well. Then we only have to wait until they come for us."

"And what is this place? According to you, it's still light, but we are in absolute darkness, Erick said looking around him. The dim lamp of the veiled lamp wasn't enough to clearly see the great room. Erick could just make out great columns around him in the darkness, but he wasn't able to recognize the place.

Erling laughed obviously amused. "The mob killed your Imperial friends, but it cost them dearly. After the massacre, the streets of the fishing Quarter were littered with the corpses of the members of the mob killed by the Imperials and also a good deal of people who had just been killed during the tumult by thieves or looters. The King ordered those corpses to be removed from Westergard."

"What happened to the dead Imperials?"

"They were returned to the brigantine, but the ordinary people were put on carts and taken out of the city to be buried. We left the city in one of those carts; the driver was one of my men and we were hidden among the dead. Nobody cared to search that load. It was an unpleasant experience, especially for me who was conscious at the time."

"Weren t you afraid that if I regained consciousness I d give us away?"

"We were in different carts and mine went first through the gates. You have to understand that you weren't really in danger. The guards at the gates were looking for me. Valsrom and Hans would be furious at my escape. If the guards had discovered you, they would had thought that the people who picked up the dead made a mistake, and once they realized that you are an Imperial, you would have been protected by them."

Erick nodded "Congratulations. Everything was well planned." Suddenly Erick realized that, over the stone block on his right, there was a box of the size of a person. "Where did you hide us?"

The Count raised the lamp and opened its shutters. "In the nearest safe place where the carts were unloaded." The room was suddenly illuminated and Erick could see a great circular room with a high vault over their heads. The walls were made of marble and there was a circle of stone blocks under the vault. Some were empty as the one who had been occupied by Erick. But others had coffins on them.

"A tomb!" Erick couldn't help exclaiming.

"The mausoleum of a noble house of the Southern Isles. The dead won't mind if we are here and the living won't take this place into account."

"It they did, we would be in an appropriate place. They wouldn't have to move our corpses from here." Erick replied with a voice laced with irony.

"Who are you talking about? The dead or the living?" The count replied laughing and Erick couldn't help laughing with him.

* * *

"Of course I'm sure. Our squadron has received orders to join the army tomorrow." The man replied in an offended tone of voice. He was tall, almost huge, broad-shouldered and athletic. A thick moustache adorned his face and his hair was styled in long and old fashioned braids. He was clad in the completely white uniform of Eastmark's cuirassiers.

"I didn't mean to offend you Gunthlaf. But the news is so surprising. Erling, who had changed from his uniform into clothes which could have belonged to a prosperous merchantman, replied.

They were in the middle of a thicket of trees in the cemetery. The men who had accompanied the Count and Erick to Eastmark had arrived, and Gunthlaf, the Captain of Erling's unit, had come with them. He had waited for the Count in the group of trees to avoid being seen by Erick. Nobody knew what the Imperial would repeat and to whom, so the less he knew about the men loyal to the Count the better.

"Have they gone mad? Why would Valsrom and his puppet King declare war on Arendelle? There must be a reason." Erling said.

"There are rumours that they count on England's support."

"And why would England support such a stupid..." The count stopped talking and his face lit up. "The Snow Queen! They will free Lord Halkett from Queen Elsa and he will protect them in return."

"Do you really believe that they fear the Imperial reprisal so much?" Gunthlaf asked.

"They don't fear only that. They would have had to work hard to obtain the acceptance of Hans' coronation. After the massacre of the Imperials it would have been impossible. Hans would have never been accepted as King of Westergard by the great powers. But everything changes if England backs them." Erling whistled in admiration. "I think that it is a great idea."

"So we will have to kill soldiers of Arendelle."

"Yes. Have the Westergard cuirassiers been also called to join the army?"

Gunthlaf shook his head. "Only our squadron has been called."

"It's logical they don't want a unit like ours in Westergard with the best part of the army fighting in Arendelle. It would be a risk so they take it with them."

Gunthlaf's mouth twisted.

"You don't seem very pleased."

"I would prefer to kill Southern Isles' soldiers. Four Westergard hussars killed my father during the last war chasing him through the woods as if he was an animal. Why don't you rise the Eastmark battle flag and call our regiments. As you have said the best part of the Southern Isles' army would be entangled in that campaign in Arendelle."

"And what would happen to you and your men? You would be in the middle of those hellish mountains surrounded by an enemy army."

"They would pay dearly to be able to kill us."

Erling shook his head. "Arendelle doesn't stand a chance of winning. They will quickly be defeated and we don't have enough money to pay for the supplies they will need to wage war in the long term." Erling patted the shoulder of the cuirassier. "My old friend, the time will come, but now take it easy and kill soldiers from Arendelle as practice"

Gunthlaf nodded. "Where will you go?"

"I will return to Eastmark. There I will be safe and can help the Imperial return to his home."

"Why do you help him so much? He is an additional complication and this plan is dangerous enough."

"Because he is Erick Simonyi, brother of Adrian Simonyi Imperial Duke and future King of Arendelle. His friendship could be very valuable if the Empire and the Southern Isles' interests collided, and it will happen if the Empire was supposed to take control of Arendelle."

"After this campaign, there won't be an Arendelle anymore."

Erling shook his head. "Once Queen Elsa is dead, the English will offer Anna's hand to the Empire. So the Imperials will be happy and Hans, Valsrom's puppet, will be allowed to keep the crown. Your men must refrain from sacking, but try to provoke problems between Arendelle's inhabitants and the Southern Isles' soldiers. If Arendelle's people hate the Southern Isles' but respect us, they will transfer that feeling to their future Imperial Lords."

A servant came to notify them that everybody was ready to depart. Both men embraced each other, Gunthlaf went to fetch his horse and the Count returned with his men.

* * *

"We will reach the fork to the east after that village. Soon we will leave the main road and tomorrow we will reach Eastmark." Count Erling said looking at the small village and the mountains which rose in front of them. They had been riding for three days through a great plain following the road towards the north. The great mountains had become visible the day before at the horizon and now they were in front of them like a great wall.

"Does the main road go on towards Arendelle?" Erick asked.

"Yes." The Count answered surprised by Erick's interest by the direction of the road. Erick hadn't been very talkative during the trip. The Count had tried to find a good moment to have a conversation with the young hussar about the war between Arendelle and the Southern Isles, and infer how Eastmark could help, but Erick had been engrossed in his own thoughts. Erling finally decided that he was too affected by the massacre of the Imperials and didn't want to force things. There would be plenty of time in Eastmark.

The Count looked at Erick. He didn't seem like a relative of an Imperial Duke. He wore simple clothes, the half-burned hair and the great scar on his head gave him a strange look. In fact he seemed miserable and apathetic, but the Count had seen him fighting and he remembered his eyes in that moment before he fell in his current state of introspection.

During the fight he had the same look of Gunthlaf; the young cavalry cadet who had left Eastmark just after its crushing defeat against the Southern Isles' army not to serve the new rulers of his country. He had returned, after twenty years fighting as mercenary in European armies, because Erling had called him._ I will need soldiers like him and Gunthlaf when the time comes. It's a pity that he is bound to the Empire. A man like this hussar would be very useful, let alone the support of the Empire_.

But in that moment the fierceness had disappeared from Erick's eyes. The day was cloudy and the invisible sun was setting, but he had been looking out at the snow covered peaks of the mountains in front of them with a strange sadness, as if he was searching for something in the growing darkness.

Erick had been thinking about what he would do once he returned to the Empire. His step brother had ruined his future in the Imperial army, Berganza wanted to use him as instrument of his plans to provoke a rebellion in Italy against the Empire, and he had to decide what to do with the information he had obtained about his stepbrother's misappropriation of Imperial funds.

One of the letters he had received from Anna said that both sister's would use Elsa's influence as Imperial Duchess to restore his rank.

But Erick was uninterested in that. He was tired of intrigues. His brother and Berganza's maneuvers seemed futile and useless. He could use the information he had obtained from Giulio, Duke Berganza's envoy, to get his rank back, but it would mean becoming entagled in their own game and Erick couldn't get the image of Von Leep out of his mind; an Imperial officer who had played the game of intrigues in the Imperial court of Vienna, with his trousers soiled and his bowels hanging from the wound in his abdomen dying in the dark and filthy junction of a miserable quarter of a petty city. _What had he died for?_

In fact he wasn't even sure about how to use that information. He was just a soldier and to benefit from that information implied moving in the higher spheres of the Empire.

_But I will have to learn quickly to move in circles like that_ . He thought. He had finally decided to discard the Imperial option. There were too many things against him in the Empire and he wouldn't be a puppet of Berganza. Another option would be to stay in Italy and join the rebellion. They would value that a Count of an old Hungarian family, which had been on Italian soil for generations, would join them and would give him the opportunity to work his way up their ranks.

_Maybe I couldn't be an Imperial Duke, but I wouldn't be just a petty Count. _He thought with his eyes fixed in the distant mountains, but the idea seemed to him as futile as his stepbrother maneuvers.

Erick suddenly realized that they had entered the small village and noticed that the road was littered with little white flowers. The entire road, on the section which crossed the settlement, was covered by a white carpet.

"Why is the road covered with flowers?" Erick asked to one villager who was dropping more flowers from a basket.

"For our soldiers! Tomorrow our army will cross this village on its way to smash Arendelle's arrogance. We litter the street with the Snow Witch symbol, for our soldiers will step on while marching." The man proudly replied.

Erick bent down and, without dismounting from the horse, took one of the white flowers from the ground. It was a white crocus.

"It's a funny way to hail the army and very appropriate since the old stories say that the soldiers of Arendelle used flowers like these in their helmets to recognize each other." The Count, who had jockeyed his horse to Erick's, said. "The army will follow the main road, and in two days, they will reach the Arendelle pass. I think that people from Arendelle call it the Southern pass. There, Arendelle has built a fortress to block the pass and the first battle of the war will be fought."

"Did you know that a Southern Isles' army was marching against Arendelle?" Erick asked.

"Yes. One of my men informed me that some infantry regiments and cavalry squadrons had been called to start a Campaign against Arendelle." The Count had decided that it was a moment as good as any other to start the conversation with Erick. They had already crossed the little village and were on their way to the fork to Eastmark.

"Why would the Southern Isles attack Arendelle? After the massacre of Imperials, they were in an extremely delicate situation." Erick asked.

"I think they want to avoid an Imperial revenge by obtaining England's support."

"Deposing Queen Elsa?"

"They intend more than that. The cavalry units and sharpshooters have received orders to kill the Queen of Arendelle if they can."

Erick had kept the crocus in his left hand and looked at it. The little white flower seemed so small and fragile.

"It's as pretty as the Queen and Princess of Arendelle. Isn't it?" The Count asked.

"So beautiful as a snowflake." Erick replied raising his eyes to the snow covered peaks of the mountains.

"It's a pity that they can't win a war only with beauty." Erling replied in a casual way.

"Does Arendelle have any chance to stand against the Southern Isles' army?" In that very moment a gap in the clouds opened and the sun beams fell on a mountain, a high one which stood isolated from the others, proud and inaccessible. Seeing the white snow in its top gleaming surrounded by darkness, Erick couldn't help remembering a long blonde braid gleaming in a dark room. _If you really love me, we will never meet again. _Elsa's words crossed Erick's mind.

The count shook his head. "Although the Southern Isles cannot send its entire army because the roads are too bad and the terrain to rough to supply it, they will send three times more infantry than the entire army of Arendelle, and the difference is even greater in cavalry and artillery. They don't have the slightest…" The Count suddenly stopped talking and looked at Erick in surprise. "Don't put that flower on your hat or the explorers of the Southern Isles' army will tear it off with their sabers."

"I'm sure that they will try." Erick replied as he finished attaching the little white flower on his cap. "We part here." Erick said looking at the path which led towards the mountains. His eyes were fierce again and the sadness had disappeared as if it had never existed. The Count was taken aback by the sudden change in Erick's mood. One of the escorts even advanced his horse pretending to protect the Count from Erick.

"What are you talking about? There aren't Imperial units, only Arendelle's."

"No problem. I will join Arendelle's army as a common soldier. So I don't have to meet anybody."

"Are you mad? It's a useless sacrifice. That's nonsense!"

"It's just fighting to the bitter end." Erick replied. "Please. Don't tell anybody where I'm. If you have to talk about me, say that we parted when we left the pantheon and you don't know where I went."

"Who would believe me?" Erling replied. "Don't you realize that what you are doing is pointless?"

"Absolutely."

"If you want revenge for your dead, I have a better way to get it."

"I don't follow you."

"You don't have to fight personally against the Southern Isles. Eastmark could do the dirty work for you."

Erick suddenly realized why the Count had saved him and why he allowed Erick to go with them to Eastmark.

"Talk with your brother. If the Empire give us economic support, we could rise against King Hans' rule. He will listen to your advice."

Erick hardly refrained from bursting out laughing. The mere idea that Adrian could accept his advice about anything was hilarious. He was about to just ignore the Count, a rebellion in Eastmark couldn't be on time to help Arendelle. Even supposing that the Empire was interested, the Imperial diplomacy would need time to obtain a pact and Arendelle's fate would be decided in a few days. But on second thought, he decided that trying was worth the effort. "Give me a paper to write on." He finally said.

Erick wrote a letter for Ladislas explaining Count Erling's willingness to help the Empire. After showing it to the Count and putting his seal on it, he handled the letter to the Count. "Give it to Ladislas Kosztkapappe, the Imperial delegate in Arendelle, he is the person you are looking for."

"Thank you." The Count said when he read the valuable letter.

"Good look Count Erling." Erick said turning his horse.

"Wait a second Imperial! Take this." Count Erling said, driven by a sudden impulse, gave a pull to a thin chain which he wore around his neck breaking it.

"What is it?" Erick said looking at the little pendant which Erling handed to him. It was a little pearl grasped by a small hawk of silver. The work was so precise that it was possible to see the tiny feathers of the bird sculpted in the metal.

"It is the emblem of my house. You are going to fight against Eastmark cuirassiers and it could save your life. Any Eastmark's soldier who sees that emblem will recognize it."

"Thank you Erling." Erick said as he took the tiny pendant.

The Count looked at Erick's figure while he put his horse in a quick canter.

"Why did he leave us? Wasn't he supposed to go with us to Eastmark?" One of the escorts asked.

"He wants to join Arendelle's army."

"Has he gone crazy? That mountains will be a hell on earth and Arendelle's army will be smashed."

"I tried to explain it to him, but he ignored me." The Count shook his head. "Good luck Imperial. Hopefully you won't meet with Gunthlaf. I doubt that he would give you time to show the pendant."


	67. Farewells

The column of soldiers, clad in the dark green uniform of Arendelle's infantry, marched through the narrow mountain path. Herolf, Baron of Arendelle's Southernmost fjord, stopped his horse at a promontory by the path and looked down. In the little Valley below, he could see the small trading post where they had spent the night.

He could see a little figure standing in front of the building. It was too far away to make out her face, but he could tell that it was his wife, looking at the not terribly long dark green serpent which was climbing the mountain. The woman would stand there until the last soldier disappeared behind the ridge. She had come with the marching soldiers, until they reached the last valley before the mountain paths, to stay with him a day more, a night more.

Herolf remembered the last night they had spent together in the trading post. She had been silently weeping all night long and he had feigned not to notice it while he embraced her, but in the morning she had seen him off without shedding a tear in front of the soldiers. So confident and unconcerned as if they were doing maneuvers.

_It is not time for weakness and I have to rise to the occasion if I want to return. A man with his head on his home will be the first casualty in battle._ He thought swerving his horse. Another rider approached him; he was a man so tall and hefty as himself with the characteristic big nose of his family.

"Is she still in front of the house?" Heinst, Herolf's brother, asked.

"Yes." The Baron replied as he put his horse in a slow gait to follow the soldiers marching.

"She will take care of the people and of the three girls."

Herolf winced at the mention of his three daughters. "I don't like this. We are leaving just old soldiers and women to protect our homes." He looked towards the fjord, the sea was still visible through the narrow and long valley.

"We have been through worse situations on the Continent." His brother replied trying to cheer him up. Both had been with the Arendelle expedition which fought against the French in the great wars against France.

_But our families weren't at risk. _Herolf thought, but a great smile lit his face concealing his concern. "You are right. The Southern Isles' soldiers will be a weak adversary compared with the French Guards. After this ridge, there is a long valley. I want you to take your men and go ahead to reach the fortress as quick as possible.

Heinst nodded. It had been Herolf's idea. They had rounded up any available horse or mule to mount as many men as possible of Heinst's light infantry company transforming them in mounted infantry. Although the men hadn't been trained to fight on horseback, they would use his mounts to move faster.

"Are your men going to leave us?" A voice said behind them.

Both brothers turned to face an infantry Captain who marched beside his men.

"Yes Captain. Heinst will reach the fortress quicker than us." Herolf replied.

"We have orders to keep our force together." The Captain replied

"We have to reinforce the fortress garrison as soon as possible." Herolf retorted.

Heinst sighed. He knew that the Captain mistrusted Herolf because all soldiers equipped with mounts were from his fjord. The soldier from Arendelle didn't like it and he had good reasons. Heinst was sure that the main reason to create a company of mounted infantry was to be able to quickly return back to the fjord, if any danger menaced the fjord or his people.

Herolf had put his horse in a quick canter which left the Captain behind. Heinst saluted him and followed his brother.

"Little plebeian bastard." The southern Baron muttered.

"Although he doesn't come from a noble family, he is a good professional soldier and is just obeying Queen Elsa's orders."

"He received orders to watch us." Herolf waved his hand as if he was putting aside his brother's comment or the Queen's orders. "Take care of Reinhard. He must have returned from Arendelle and you will find him in the area."

"Don't worry so much about him. Your son can take care of himself and Nelberg commands the fortress."

Herolf frowned. "I don't trust him."

"He is an experienced soldier. In fact, he has more experience than you and me together."

"He is a traitor!"

"He just fought on the other side!" Heinst replied.

"I don't understand why our Queen trusted him so much. He would cause problems, but our charming Queen will be comfortably protected in Arendelle and won't suffer them."

* * *

"Mother of monsters. That's what Bishop Bodo said yesterday about you during the mass. He told Arendelle's mothers that they couldn't trust the safety of their sons in the army to you because your sons weren't humans and you won't care about theirs. Rolf wanted to arrest him immediately." Kai said.

Elsa shook his head. "Has he said something about my sister?"

The seneschal shook his head. "No. He didn't even name Princess Anna during his speeches."

"Then don't touch him. I will be out of Arendelle in a few weeks and he will calm down."

"But he said that you were the real reason of this war and that..."

"Enough Kai. We have problems enough without creating tensions among our people."

The seneschal nodded, but it was obvious that he didn't agree with his Queen. He got to his feet. "I will go fetch the account books for the past year."

Elsa nodded and he left the room, closing the door behind him and leaving the Queen alone.

They were in the Harbor master Office which was placed in the main square of Arendelle. Elsa had gone with Kai to check the last cargo shipped and received in the harbor before she left to war. It was a tedious task, as Anna always stated, but trade was vital for Arendelle's prosperity.

Elsa could hear the muffled sound of Arendelle's soldiers marching in the street. The orders to depart had been received the night before and they had been quickly executed. It was obvious that everything had been prepared in advance by Rolf to be ready to depart as soon as possible.

She wanted to finish what she was doing and join the army before she felt too weak. Since a few days before, the morning was the only part of the day when she felt strong enough to work. She tried to concentrate on some of the ledger entries that didn't add up with what was expected, but Bodo's words crossed her mind. _Mother of monsters. _She looked at her belly. "You aren't monsters." She said in loud voice as she put a hand on it. _It seems bigger_. She suddenly thought.

She was in the private rooms of the Harbor Master and there was a great mirror in one of the walls. The Queen of Arendelle approached it. She felt dizzy when raising from the chair, but anyway she stood side on looking at her reflected figure and examined her abdomen._ Is it larger? _On the one hand Elsa was delighted to see evidence of the existence of her sons, but on the other hand any sign of pregnancy before the wedding would be a very dangerous diplomatic incident.

_I'm acting like a fool_. Elsa thought. _It's too early to notice anything. _But she couldn't help examining her breasts. Trying to see if they had increased their size. _I could loosen my dress, so it won't be so easy to notice any change. _

At that moment there was a knock in the door an Elsa quickly returned by the desk and took one of the books. "Come in."

One of the stewards of the harbor opened the door. "Prince Antanas of Lithuania asks for an audience. I told him that it was highly irregular, but he insisted."

Elsa smiled at the mention of Erick's friend. "Let him pass."

Antanas entered into the room and the steward closed the door leaving them alone.

"I wanted to thank you for accepting my request to go with Arendelle's army as neutral observer." The new Prince of Lithuania said.

"You are welcome. I also want to thank you. Adrian's words about Captain Simonyi were unnecessarily rude." Elsa hesitated for a second before going on. "He helped and bravely fought for my sister. Anna was really pleased with your explanation about Erick's feats in the Plains and the implied defense of his memory."

"Thank you Queen Elsa, but I didn't speak for your sister. I thought that you needed that story and that's the reason why I shared it."

Elsa stiffened at Antanas words. "What do you mean?"

"I heard to you in the cemetery, when you went to Erick's tomb. I'm sorry. I didn't intend to spy on you, but I couldn't help it."

Elsa remained silent for a long time before talking. "Was anybody else in the cemetery that day?"

Antanas nodded. "Steponas, my bodyguard."

"What are you going to do with that information?"

"Nothing at all. Don't worry we aren't going to tell anybody about it."

Elsa looked him straight in the eye. "Prince Antanas, I have short practical experience in diplomacy, but the first thing I learned is that anything has a price and the information you have is too valuable to just ignore it. What are you looking for? Why did King Vladimiras left you in Arendelle?"

Antanas felt hurt by Elsa's words. He wanted to say a lot of things, but she was too close and he stared at Elsa's blue eyes. The young Lithuanian couldn't help stepping forward and kissing the Queen of Arendelle.

Elsa was so surprised that she was unable to move until Antanas' lips separated from hers. The young Lithuanian was as surprised as the Queen. "I hope that I have clearly stated my position." He said concealing his embarrassment and, after bowing, left the room followed by Elsa's astonished gaze.

Elsa leaned on the table, swaying a little. _I'm stupid. Being so tall, I forget that he is just fifteen years old. _

"Has Prince Antanas proposed any political pact?" Kai, who had entered carrying a lot of heavy books when Antanas left the room, asked seeing Elsa's face.

"I wish he had just declared war on Arendelle." Elsa replied to Kai's surprise.

* * *

Steponas was in front of the Harbor Master Office waiting for Antanas. The veteran hadn't dismounted, and while eating an apple, watched the soldiers marching in the street and a section of guard grenadiers(*) commanded by Mark which was guarding Queen Elsa while she was in the building. The men boasted and joked to conceal their nervousness as soldiers used to do before a campaign or a battle.

Antanas came through the door and leaned his head on the saddle of the horse. He heaved a great sigh before mounting.

"Is anything wrong?" The bodyguard asked before biting the apple.

"Have you never done something you know you shouldn't have to done, but you feel proud for having done it?"

"And will that thing you have done provoke a lot of problems?" Steponas asked, but he went on before Antanas could reply. "No. But you can ask Vladimiras. He knows a lot about it."

* * *

Allan and Howart Halkett passed that moment in front of the building on their way towards the castle. Allan looked in barely concealed surprise at the two mounted Lithuanians. "What are they doing?" He asked interrupting his uncle who had been talking to him.

"The young heir of Lithuania has asked and obtained permission from the Queen to join the army as a neutral observer." Lord Halkett replied.

"Why does he want to join a defeated army?"

"Nobody knows what are doing, those Lithuanians. If King Vladimiras left his heir behind, there must be a very good reason. I guess that he wants to keep the young heir separate from Lithuania's political intrigues until he gets his crown. And the bored Prince wants to see a bit of action."

Allan remembered when Antanas had explained how Erick Simonyi had saved him in the Plains and Anna's eyes gleaming in delight. _This boy isn't looking for war but for love. _He thought looking at Antanas.

The Lithuanian noticed Allan's gaze and both men looked at each other for a long time.

"What are you doing Allan?" Lord Howart Halkett asked looking in surprise at his nephew.

Allan realized that his uncle hadn't been the only one to notice his reaction. Steponas was looking at him with the hand on the pommel of his sword as if he was ready to defend the Prince from an attack from Allan.

"Nothing, Uncle Howart." Allan replied turning and going on walking.

"I was telling you that you should select one of your officers for a short trip. He must go to the Northern fjords."

"What must those parody of noblemen have to do?"

Lord Halkett laughed at his nephew words. "I will explain to them that the army has already departed. Their soldiers would be very useful here in Arendelle."

Both Englishmen, uncle and nephew, left the square and crossed the bridge that connected the village with the castle. They wanted to go to one of the towers to have a good view of the marching army.

* * *

Kurt von Schrader was in a corner of the square and had watched the entire scene. He had also been surprised by Allan's strange reaction. "And why did Mullon wanted a meeting with Lord Halkett and uncle Friedrich today, and early in the morning?" He asked his brother Otto who was walking at his side. Both brothers had gone to take a walk through the streets of Arendelle to see the army. Otto was very interested in, in his own words, gauging it.

"The French delegate wanted to make an official complaint for England's maneuvers in Norway. He said that if the England's Southern Isles puppets conquered Arendelle the pact they signed a few days ago wouldn't be worth the paper it's written on."

"Is he going to force England to stop this stupid war?" Kurt asked in surprise.

"Of course not. Everything was a farce. He feigned to be worried by the treaties and Lord Halkett stuck to his version that he has nothing to do with this war." Otto replied while he examined the weapons of a group of soldiers who were seated in the middle of the square waiting for their turn to march. "The weapons seem of good quality."

"Hopefully, they will be of better quality than the treaties reached during the conference. And how that macabre farce ended."

"It was like a dull and annoying ceremony. Everybody knew how it would finish, but they had to go through with it. Halkett said that when King Hans marries Queen Anna and becomes King of Arendelle, he will respect the law and will maintain Arendelle's compromises. Providing that nobody interferes in Norwegian internal affairs, of course. That last remark was a warning to the Frenchman not to press too much on that point."

"Queen Anna? Elsa is the Queen of Arendelle."

Otto made a wry smile while checking the formation of light infantry company marching. "Nobody takes into account Queen Elsa's survival. She will die during the war. If she is lucky a sharpshooter will kill her, or else the soldiers who catch her will enjoy playing with a Queen for a while before killing her, but I'm not sure that she will enjoy the game."

"And France is not going to do anything?"

Otto shrugged. "Mullon feigned worry for the Empire, but Halkett knows that they really don't want an Imperial foothold in Norway. The French delegate planned to marry Anna with a minor Imperial noble, but marrying Elsa with an Imperial Duke is as dangerous for France as for England."

Otto stopped talking looking at Mark who was giving orders to the guard grenadiers to fall in.

"And what did they agree at the end?" Kurt asked.

"Our uncle did the dirty job. He feigned to try different solutions which were rejected by Mullon or Halkett until he proposed to increase France's share in Arendelle's timber. It was what Mullon had wanted from the beginning and they agreed a compromise in fifteen minutes. It was obvious that both of them, Halkett and Mullon had expected that option and had already decided before the meeting how much they were willing to relinquish or to claim to the other."

"If they had foreseen that, why did Mullon wait so long to talk with Halkett?"

"He has been waiting until Arendelle's army departed."

Kurt gaped at his brother in amazement. "So, there's no turning back. Once both armies are marching the English can't stop this war even if he wanted. The damned Frenchman wanted to be sure that he wouldn't stop that war with his movement!"

"And Halkett hasn't any option but to accept an increase in France's share to avoid its interference. Mullon is good. He has made his movement with the precision of a chess game. He had even managed to keep his agreement in secret."

"I suppose that France doesn't want to officially give support to an attack against a Queen." Kurt said.

Otto nodded. "The French Bourbons are very sensitive to any attack against a crowned head since the mob killed France's Royal Family with the guillotine. That's why Mullon's King will be kept in the darkness, although I'm sure that such increase in France's share will comfort him for Queen Elsa's final fate."

"And Mullon will also find comfort in the increase in his benefits since that extra timber will also be handled by his relative's shipyards. Has our uncle accepted to take part in that?"

"Our uncle had obtained great benefits being Halkett's workhorse during the entire conference and handling the relations with the little German states. That has allowed him to create a network of contacts and dependencies that will be important in the future. Let alone that Halkett has granted us some privileges in London that ensure the prosperity of our family. In fact we will become a rich and powerful family."

"But was it necessary to build that on the Queen's tomb?"

"You are too fussy."

"I don't like certain things."

"So you let others like me to do them. Do you remember when we were studying in the university of Königsberg? People talked about your strange pleasures and you didn't act. I had to fix that."

"I never asked you to do anything."

"I was supposed to let people say things like that about my brother?"

"They were just saying the truth."

"That wasn't the point. I taught them not to say things like that about a von Schrader."

"You defied everybody who said anything about my preferences. You became one of the best duelists in the city, but also got that scar on your cheek."

"It's a cheap price to preserve the honor of the family and I improved my swordsmanship."

At that moment Elsa left the harbor master office and the Guard grenadiers presented arms. Kurt thought that the pressure of the last events were taking a heavy toll on the Queen's health. The Queen seemed extremely pale and walked unsteadily.

"It's funny. You could know the price of her life just by calculating the value of the timber England has granted to France." Otto said.

"Don't forget to add the money we are going to get in London with the privileges granted by Halkett." Kurt wryly replied.

Otto's face twisted. "Money that you will also spend in your travels through Europe. You worry too much. This is a diplomatic affair. She will be sacrificed to keep the balance of powers in Europe and we can't do anything"

"She will be sacrificed because Lord Halkett fears her powers." Kurt stated.

"Well, in that case she shouldn't have had those powers. If she was a normal person, this wouldn't have been necessary."

* * *

"Take them. They are a strengthener and will keep you strong!"

Anna looked dubiously at the dry barks on Bulda's hands.

"You only have to boil them and drink the water. The infusion will restore your energies." The troll added with a broad smile on her face.

Anna had the suspicion that Gerda had explained her supposed pregnancy to Kristoff's adoptive mother. Although the initial contact between humans and trolls had been cold, Gerda and Bulda had quickly began to talk about Kristoff and Anna, and had become friends.

"I wouldn't take that. It's a troll medicine and I'm not very confident about its effects on humans." Kristoff stated.

"The infusion is safe. It has some minor side effects, but none of them would be dangerous for my…" Bulda stopped talking as if she was about to say something undesired and looked sideways at Anna's abdomen.

Seeing her suspicions confirmed, Anna sighed and took the barks. "Thank you Bulda." She said getting on the sleigh, which was over its wheels as a wagon, by Kristoff who already was on the driver's seat. Sven started to pull and they swiftly moved towards the main road. They had spent their wedding night in the Valley of Living Rock and they were to join Arendelle's army in its way towards the Southern passes.

"Are we moving at last?" A voice sounded from the rear of the sleigh which was full of presents and baggage.

Anna twisted, opened one of the boxes and looked inside it. "Shut up!" She said with a finger on her lips. "You must remain silent."

"But we are alone. Aren't we?" Olaf, whose head was inside the box, said. Two more boxes in the cart shuddered as if something alive was moving inside.

"Stop moving!" The Princess of Arendelle exclaimed. "We will join the army shortly and nobody can see you."

"It's easy to say when you aren't in a…" Kristoff started to say, but he stopped talking for a second before going on. "In three different boxes."

"We have already talked about it. The only way to bring Olaf with us is this. A box great enough to contain him in one piece would have aroused Elsa's suspicions." Anna replied.

"But we're still far away from the main road and the army."

"I'm sure that Rolf has sent a patrol to escort us. I don't want to take the risk." Anna said looking at the snowman's head. The box was great enough to contain it, but it had been necessary to remove Olaf's nose and leave it by his head to close the box. Anna couldn't help feeling sorry for the poor snowman.

"At least, could you take my head out of the box? So it won't be so boring." Olaf said.

The other boxes containing Olaf's different parts started to shake. _I could hold him on my lap and hide him with my cloak if somebody appears. _Anna couldn't help thinking. The young Princess stretched her arms to take the head.

"Dragoons!" Kristoff suddenly said.

Anna quickly closed the box and turned. A rider had appeared on a nearby hill and was waving towards them. A group of cavalrymen clad in the green and red uniform of the Arendelle's dragoons appeared in front of them and approached.

Anna heard the muffled sound of Olaf grunting. "Come on!" Anna said. "It's the only way for the four of us to stay together."

"Together! If this is a joke, it is in very poor taste!" Olaf said from inside the cage.

* * *

"Your brother was too lazy choosing the officers of his army. We are at war and I won't accept any courtier." Count Valsrom said while he leaned on the table examining the map which displayed the mountain road that connected the Southern Isles and Arendelle. The senior officers of the army who surrounded the table were also looking with interest.

"I fully understand you. And I agree that you have chosen the best possible men to command the units." Hans replied. _And also men loyal to you who would ensure your control of the army. _During the march towards Arendelle, the Count and commander of the army had searched and found excuses to replace the colonels and the cavalry captains of all the units included in the expedition to Arendelle.

The only Captain who hadn't been replaced was Gunthalf, Captain of the Eastmark cuirassiers. His cutting efficiency made difficult to find an error, but Hans suspected that the real reason was that the Eastmark units would never be loyal to Valsrom nor any other Southern Isles' ruler, whoever commanded them.

Valsrom nodded at Hans' words. "My only concern is to improve the combat capabilities of the army."

"But take into account that, although they aren't good enough to be in command, they know the men and some of them would be good second-in-command." Hans calmly replied.

Valsrom seemed to hesitate. Hans knew that some of the officers were utterly inept and had received their ranks just by their contacts in Konrad's court. But Stephan had done hard work trying to ensure the quality of the army and a good deal of the officers were able soldiers whose only sin was not being loyal to Valsrom.

Valsrom knew that and, being an experienced General, it was difficult for him to renounce to good officers before a campaign. He finally nodded. "The best of them will be allowed to stay in their units."

Hans inwardly smiled. Valsrom was a very efficient soldier, the march of the army to the north was an outstanding example of organization, the army's vanguard would reach the northern passes a day before expected. But he lacked subtlety. He was like a steel gauntlet without a silk globe hiding it.

Hans would take care that those officers would find out who had avoided their expulsion from the army. Even the expelled ones would also be informed of Hans' mediation. Maybe they were bad soldiers, but they could be effective supporters in the court.

Count Valsrom went on with his explanation which had been interrupted by the King. He put his finger on a point of the map. "Arendelle's fortress is placed in this Valley. They have chosen a very good position. This valley is the only path good enough for an army to go to the north." The count moved his finger over other points of the map. "The alternative paths are too narrow and they wouldn't allow to supply the army. So we have to take that fortress."

"How many cannons do they have?" One of the officers asked.

"They have tried to keep the construction of the fortress in secret, but they haven't been good enough. We have a detailed report about it." Valsrom said raising smiles of approbation in the officers around the table. "They don't have any heavy cannon in the fortress. If they had been able to move one great piece of artillery through the mountains paths which came from Arendelle, we would have discovered it."

"What's the use of a fortress without cannons? They cannot be so stupid." One of the junior officers asked.

"They have made emplacements for light artillery in the top of the towers. The fortress is commanded by Nelberg and his unit of horse artillery will be with him. Arendelle's plan is to use their cannons in the fortress."

Everybody seemed surprised. The horse artillery were light cannons pulled by horses. They traded firepower for mobility. Using them in a static fortress where mobility wasn't useful didn't seem a good option. "Then their firepower would be limited." An artillery officer said. "We could place our cannons out of their effective range and shell the fortress from there effectively."

Valsrom nodded. "Yes. I hope that we can take the fortress in three days and face the army from Arendelle on the plateau behind. Our objective is to reach the road to the southern fjord." Valsrom pointed at a branch of the main road which headed towards Herolf's fjord. "So we will avoid the garrison from the fjord to join the main army from Arendelle and we could fight them piecemeal."

His words raised a murmur of approval. The only one who seemed indifferent was the Captain of the Eastmark cuirassiers. He was studying the map as if he was memorizing the details of the place where he and his men would fight.

"I have more good news. A fleet from Weselton will arrive tomorrow to Westergard and one of our regiments will leave on it."

"Will they dare to help us?" One of the officers asked in surprise.

"England is a powerful ally. If Lord Halkett grants him free pass, the Duke of Weselton will be pleased settling old scores with the Snow Queen and regain a privileged position as Arendelle's partner in trade." Hans replied.

"Will we send an army to strike them by the back and storm Arendelle?" The colonel of a guard infantry regiment exclaimed.

Hans shook his head. "Too much visibility. All the diplomats of the great powers and of some of the minor ones are in Arendelle. If they see the realities of war too closely, their pity for Arendelle could interfere against us in the post war negotiations. I have a better place to use Weselton's ships."

* * *

The Capital of Eastmark wasn't a great city like Westergard, in fact it was a boring little town by a little bay, but Count Erling couldn't help feeling touched when he saw again the harbor and the fortress of his family where he had spent his childhood. _If I lived here, in a week I would miss Westergard's entertainments, but how great it is returning home when you had been sure that you would never come back._

A carriage waited for him out of the town to allow him to enter unnoticed. When the count got in, he found an old advisor who had been his father's right hand awaiting him. Erling told him what had happened in Westergard since he had been arrested.

When he finished his explanation, the carriage had already arrived at the castle's stables. Both men went down and headed towards Erling's private chambers.

"I will stay only today. Tomorrow I want to leave for Arendelle."

"Do you think that it is sensible?"

"With the Southern Isles entangled in a war with Arendelle this is the moment to get rid of them, but we need money and supplies to wage a war. Captain Simonyi's letter is what we need to get that from the Empire."

"I think that you must talk first with someone."

"Who is that person?"

"He hasn't told me his name, but he seems to be a nobleman. He said that he will only tell his name to you and that you will be interested to hear from him."

"Why was he so sure that I would come here?"

"Well, in fact he stated that he would be willing to talk with the man who was the Lord of Eastmark whoever he was."

"Do you believe that it could be a trap?"

"I don't think so."

"Where is that interesting man?"

"In your office. Do you want to rest before talking with him?"

Erling shook his head and headed towards his office. "I want to talk with him now."

When they opened the door. Erling found a short man with dark skin, black hair, and penetrating gaze.

"Good evening Count Erling. We meet at last." The man said raising from the chair where he had been seated.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know your name." Erling replied trying to read his impenetrable eyes.

The man smiled. "My name is Berganza, Niccolo Berganza Imperial Duke of Milan and I think that we are destined to work together."

* * *

H.N.

(*) Grenadiers: Soldiers chosen for being the most physically powerful and tall soldiers who led assaults in the field of battle.


	68. Nelberg

Although it was the end of summer, the day was cold and cloudy. The invisible sun had begun to raise over the mountains, but the pale light that filtered through the clouds and the top of the trees wasn't able to dispel the darkness under the trees._ It's dark as a dungeon but it will make easy my work. _Knut thought as he approached to the glow of a little campfire among the trees.

He was a tall and wiry man, middle-aged who was clad in an Arendelle's light infantry uniform with their rank emblems removed. Holding a long knife in his right hand, the soldier moved silently among the tress and bushes slowly approaching to the little encampment which his keen eyes had discovered due to a thin line of smoke raising among the trees in the dim light of the morning.

_It's not very different from chasing deers. Although this has sharper antlers than the usual ones. _The man saw two horses tied at a nearby tree and one man seated by the fire and leaning on tree at his side, he wore the uniform of the Westergard's hussars an elite cavalry squadron.

_I have to move quickly before his comrade returns._ The soldier was just five meters behind the Southern soldier and moved as silently as the shadows which began to disappear. He raised his left hand to cover the mouth of the hussar and his right to cut his throat with a quick slash, but he suddenly stopped and looked at the cavalryman in confusion.

"What the hell!" He muttered stepping forward and looking at the Southern Isles' hussar. The man was dead with his throat cut from ear to ear. A great knife with the Southern Isles emblem was stuck in the tree by the man and prevented him from falling.

The Arendelle's soldier was so surprised that he only noticed the arrival of the second hussar when the man, who had gone to relieve himself, appeared from behind a group of nearby bushes, and finding his comrade death, couldn't help a gasp of surprise.

Both men looked at each other in astonishment for a long moment. Finally the hussar drew his sword and slowly approached to Knut who dropped his knife and draw his straight sword of infantry officer. "You will pay for that Arendelle's scum" He said as he gave a quick slash with his curved saber.

While he parried the blow, Knut thought for a second to deny any involvement with the death of the sitting hussar, but he finally decided that, taking into account his initial intentions, being accused of killing him was fair enough.

Both men fought in the uneven terrain. The encampment was in a slope and the ground was covered with leaves which hid rocks and holes. It was easy to slip in such terrain and twist an ankle. The hussar saber was shorter than Knut sword, but swordsmanship had never been a strong point of the infantryman and the soldier of the Southern isles was a skilled swordsman. Knut couldn't help giving ground and it would only be a question of time for the hussar to get a good blow.

Knut was about to try a desperate attack when he noticed that just behind the hussar a fallen tree was moving. A man who had been hiding under the great and rotten trunk slowly and silently raised. Leafs fell from his clothes while he approached to the hussar from behind. Knut averted his eyes from him not to warn his adversary.

When Knut realized that the man hold a heavy saber, he feared that he was another hussar who will attack him, but with a quick slash of the saber cut his enemy's tendons in the back of the foot.

The hussar taken by surprise tried to turn, but his right foot didn't supported him and he fell to the ground.

"Take it easy. You are our prisoner now." The newcomer said in Norwegian talking with a strange accent.

Knut looked at the man while he was tying the hands of his new prisoner. He was slender and not very tall, but he tied quickly and deftly the wounded hussar. His hair was very short in the right side of his head and longer in the other, and it seemed burned. A long scar was visible in the burned side of the head. Knut noticed that the man wore also a fresh wound in his left arm. It has been covered with a tied rag and there were stains of blood on the improvised bandage.

"Did the other hussar hurt you?" Knut asked pointing at the left arm of the man.

He shook his head. "He didn't even realized what happened. Anyway it is just a scratch."

"How did you get it?"

"It's a long story. My name is Erick Melgaard" Erick replied using the surname of his mother. He supposed that using a Norwegian family name would make easier to be accepted in Arendelle's army. "You move really well! I didn't heard nor see you until you stepped into the encampment."

"My name is Knut. Count of Arendelle's inner valleys and captain of Arendelle's second company of light infantry." Knut said bending down and helping Erick to tie the prisoner.

"The second company of what regiment?" Erick asked.

"Well, Arendelle has just one regiment of infantry, and of course it has an official name, but I recognize that I don't remember it." Knut shrugged. "Anyway,We never use its official name."

Erick shook his head. He was used to the Imperial armies and the small size of the Norwegian ones was surprising. The first time he had seen the entire Southern Isles' army advancing he had believed that it was a just a vanguard.

Knut looked at the dead hussar who still was seated on the trunk. "Did you kill that man?"

"Yes. I followed them since yesterday evening waiting for a good opportunity. When one went into the trees I eliminated the other and hide to wait for the remaining one." Erik replied.

Knut scratched his neck looking at the dead hussar. "I saw the smoke over the trees. They were rather careless."

"According with I heard watching them. They haven't very good opinion of Arendelle's scouts and they didn't feel in danger."

"Life is full of surprises." Knut just replied. "Which is your unit? I didn't expect to find any of us between me and the Southern Isles' vanguards."

"I don't belong to any unit, but I want to join to the Arendelle's army."

Knut looked in surprise at the stranger. "Are you from Arendelle? "

The man shook his head. "Is it a problem?"

"No. During a war soldiers are like money, you don't care too much where they come from. But haven't you been told that Arendelle's army is waging war on the Southern Isles and nobody believes that we don't stand a chance of winning."

"Yes, I have." Erick just replied.

"And you still want to join us? You must have a good reason."

"My reasons are my concern."

Knut nodded as he approached to a small pot over the fire in front of the dead hussar. "That food is going to burn." Knut said as he seized the pot. He took a spoon which was on the ground by the dead man and tasted it.

"Are you going to eat that? It's the food of the dead." Erick asked looking in surprise at Knut.

"Of course I'm. I have been a week wandering in the forest awaiting for the Southern Isles vanguard and eating just cold food to avoid being detected. Anyway, he is not going to complain." Knut replied nodding his head towards the death soldier. "Do you want? He said offering the pot to Erick.

Erick just shook his head with an amused smile on his face. The Arendelle Captain quickly swallowed the content of the pot and after throwing it in the middle of the bushes went to fetch his horse which was in a nearby hollow.

* * *

Reinhard, son and heir apparent of Herolf lord of Arendelle's Southernmost fjord, couldn't help looking in astonishment the fortress. They hadn't been allowed to approach it before. It was supposed to be a secret, although everybody in the nearby valleys in Arendelle's and the Southern Isles' side of the border knew about its existence.

So It was the first time that he saw the fortification and it was a really fine work. Its main body was a small square with wide walls. He knew that them had been made with packed earth, which would absorb the impacts from enemy cannonballs, covered by a surface of stone. There was a bastion in each corner each one with flanks which protected the space between the bastions and two faces which provided commanding field of fire all around the fortress.

A ditch, deep enough to hide the base of the walls and protect them from enemy cannons, surrounded the entire fortress. A small trench filled with water and with a wooden palisade in the inner side ran along the bottom of the ditch. Reinhard knew that it had a technical name which he had read and forgotten when he was being trained as an officer, but he remembered that it was designed to slowdown the advance of enemy soldiers which were trying to reach the base of the walls.

_Anyway that palisade will be the least of his problems. _The dragoon officer thought looking at the great ravelin inside the ditch. They were triangular shaped solid constructions placed in front of the walls that connected the four bastions. One side of the triangle was parallel to the wall between the bastions, so the opposite point was oriented towards the enemy.

The walls between the bastions, which were called curtains, were deemed to be the weak point of a fortress and the ravelins were supposed to divert the assault groups from them towards the faces of the bastions at each side. From their tops, the cannons would have a clear line of fire in enfilade over the bottom of the ditch packed with infantry transforming the narrow space between the wall of the ditch and the ravelin in a deadly place.

The young lieutenant, with his patrol of ten dragoons behind him, started to went on the bridge which crossed the ditch towards the gatehouse in the middle of one the curtain walls. The bridge was divided in two sections one that allowed to access the ravelin in front of the gate ran parallel to the face of a nearby bastion, so the defenders could fire at pleasure against any assault force trying to approach.

A sharp curve on the ravelin, which would break the impetus of any charge and create confusion, directed towards the second section which leaded to the gatehouse. There was a drawbridge at its end that, once raised, would make impossible to reach the gate.

Reinhard raised his eyes at the high gatehouse which towered over the bridge. He tried to picture what a group of determined defenders could do from it to an assault squad which tried to reach the gates. He had never imagined to found such outstanding defenses.

When he crossed the gates and reached the open space inside the central square building, Reinhard saw Knut clad in his dark green uniform of Arendelle's light infantry talking with the sergeant major of his company.

"Bring the horse to the stables and found the rest of our group. They must be somewhere." He told to his men before approaching his horse to the tall and wiry infantry officer. "Good evening. Knut. Have you already settled in the fortress?"

The sergeant left and Knut turned to face the cavalry officer. "Yes. Nelberg gave the order that everybody including your cavalrymen must enter. In fact he has ordered that nobody must left the fortress without his express permission."

The cavalryman frowned. "He didn't allowed us to approach and now he doesn't allow to go out. Sometimes I think that he is senile."

Knut shrugged. "Have you seen something?"

Reinhard nodded while he dismounted. "I have seen the Southern isles' army on the march. They bring siege artillery, a battery of heavy cannons which will destroy the walls of this fortress in a few days. This silly secrecy is useless. Tomorrow morning they will arrive, unless we stop them, and even Nelberg will have to recognize that the Southern Isles' is informed of the existence of this fortress."

"That adds up with the description of the volunteer ."

"Volunteer?"

"A man I found in the nearby valley. He had killed a Southern isles' hussar and helped me to capture another. In fact he saved me me from a difficult situation. He wants to join us."

Reinhard eyebrows raised in unconcealed surprise. "Do you trust him?"

"It's difficult not to be fond of a man who cuts the throat of your enemies so skillfully." Knut replied smiling. "But the point isn't if I trust him, but if Nelberg trust him. He is interrogating him now. But I think that he won't accept him. He doesn't want any stranger in the fortress."

"To keep the secret? That's stupid. The approaching siege train is a proof that they already know about this fortress. Isn't The fact that he helped you proof enough of his sincerity. "

"I doubt that Nelberg considered saving me or my men as something good for Arendelle. He used to kill people like us. He even Asked me if I trusted all my men. I was about to reply that I trust them more than I trust him."

Reinhard smiled. Knut's company was composed of a small core of regular soldiers and the rest were militia recruited from the inner valleys of Arendelle. It was obvious that Nelberg didn't trusted them nor their leader, a Count that was more used to mountain valleys than the court. "Come with me! I have to brief Nelberg and I want to see that stranger. What's his name?"

"Erick." Replied Knut following her fellow comrade to Nelberg's chambers.

* * *

When both officers entered in the room, they found Nelberg's seated on his desk reading a letter and the volunteer standing in front of him.

Nelberg was an old man. In fact his uniform of artillery colonel, which was of a strange style, seemed inappropriate for a man of his age. He was bald and only a thin rim of long white hair surrounded the back of his head. His body seemed small and frail, but when he finished reading the letter his piercing eyes looked at Erick as if they were able to read the young man's thoughts.

_The old man haven't allowed him even to sit. _Reinhard thought looking at the young man. Although he was clad in civilian clothes, it was easy to see that he was a soldier.

"Welcome gentlemen." Nelberg sneeringly said when they entered, "We have a new fellow officer in the garrison."

"I don't follow you." The young dragoon officer replied.

"Our new comrade has very good contacts." The old officer said handling the paper he had been reading to Reinhard.

The dragoon took the paper which was darkened as if it had been approached too much to a flame. Reading the letter, he whistled in surprise. "I Anna Princess and crowned regent of Arendelle ask to any member of Arendelle's army or embassies to consider the bearer of this letter as a captain of Arendelle's army ." Is this valid?"

"Of course it is." Nelberg curtly replied. "Tell me Captain." Nelberg said fixedly looking at Erick."Why are you here?" I haven't been informed of any Captain Melgaard to join the garrison."

"I want to join your garrison. I'm a experienced light cavalryman."

"The letter said that you have to be considered a Captain. Do you have any experience leading soldiers?"

"I have commanded cavalry units greater than this entire garrison."

Reinhard handled Anna's letter back to Erick. He couldn't help remembering the graceful Princess of Arendelle when they had danced together a few days ago after her coronation as crowned regent. Everything was utterly different then. _We weren't facing a desperate war and Nelberg was just a funny eccentric not the unsuited leader of Arendelle's only defense_

Reinhard turned to face the colonel and briefed him. "I have seen the Southern Isles army. They had a siege train with heavy cannons and they will be here tomorrow morning. We have to plan the defense of the fortress."

Nelberg nodded towards Erick. "According to our new comrade, they have four sixteen-pounders and two twenty-four-pounders. They are doing a quite good work moving them so quickly in those mountain paths."

"If you have some cavalry, we could do a surprise attack against the cannons." Erick said. I have seen some good places where a determined small group of cavalrymen could strike, make a lot of damage and retreat quickly before their units could react." Erick stated.

"I agree with that." Reinhard added. My dragoons would be more useful out of the fortress than manning the battlements."

Nelberg shook his head. "In the best case, you could damage some gun carriages. That only would delay the approach of some of the pieces."

"But we could attach those twenty-four-pounders." Reinhard replied.

"As I have told you before that only would delay their approach."

"But sir." Erick interrupted." In a siege timing is everything. The Southern Isles' has a limited time to take the fortress before we receive help from Arendelle. This fortress is too big for its current garrison, but once the army of Arendelle reach it would be a hard nut to crack. A day of delay for the twenty-four-pounders is a day added to take the fortress and a day less to receive reinforcements."

Nelberg looked in surprise at Erick. "You seem to know some concepts about siege warfare."

"I was in a siege and I had a good teacher." Erick replied remembering the long months spent in a city surrounded by the Lithuanian army and Corrado's explanations. The grumpy Italian engineer had taken Erick as adjutant in the works to reinforce the defenses of the city.

"Anyway that sally would be useless and risky." Nelberg stated. "The cavalry will remain in the fortress to man the battlements. In fact, no more scouts will left the fortress."

"This is a ...!" Erick began to exclaim, but he controlled himself quickly. "Sir. This would leave us blind to the enemy approach. At least some explorers should..."

Nelberg looked fixedly at Erick. For a moment he seemed to be remembering something, as those old men whose minds fly away in the middle of a conversation. "You are new here, don't pretend to understand the situation better than us." He finally said.

"Sir, sending scouts would provide us with useful information and we could have the opportunity to harass them." Reinhard stated.

"Enough gentlemen." Nelberg said. "I have a lot of things to prepare before tomorrow and this discussion is quite useless. Return with your men and prepare them for the incoming attack."

* * *

"Is he always so kind?" Erick asked when the three officers were out of the room.

Knut shrugged. "Taking into account that he used to guillotine people like us, he had been quite considerate."

"Guillotine?" Erick asked in surprise.

Reinhard frowned hearing Knut's words and he answered before the Infantry Captain. "There are a lot of stories about him. It seems that he went to France during the revolution against the crown and involved with the people who decreed the King's execution."

Knut nodded obviously angry. "And he fought the wars against France in the armies of Napoleon. Haven't you noticed that his uniform was cut in the French style of that period?"

Erick pictured the uniform of the old man in dark blue instead of green and he realized that would have been very similar to an Imperial French uniform."Did he fight in the French Imperial armies? I have been told that their artillery was the best of Europe." The strange orders of the artillery colonel didn't add up with the ability expected from the artillery of Napoleon.

"Maybe he wasn't an apt pupil." Knut suggested.

"Maybe we have to trust him. He is Rolf's uncle. I can't believe that Arendelle's commander of the army doesn't know the capabilities of his own family. " Reinhard replied, but he seemed unconvinced by his own words.

"I will never trust him. He betrayed Arendelle once and I don't understand why Queen Elsa trust him! He fought against us and one of his cannonballs killed my elder brother, who was fighting at the side of his rightful King, in Leipzig." Knut stated.

"He didn't fired that cannon. You don't even know if he was at Leipzig."

Knut was about to reply but a man appeared in the hallway heading towards Nelberg's room. He was tall, broad shouldered and wore a thick mustache as black as his hair, although he had started getting grey hairs. He wore Arendelle's artillery sergeant uniform.

The artilleryman impeccably saluted the three officers as he passed them and entered in the room they had left a moment ago.

"Are all Arendelle's artillerymen so old as Nelberg?" Erick asked.

"He is François a friend of Nelberg from the French army." Reinhard answered.

"Are you joking! Is he another Napoleon's veteran?"

Reinhard nodded. "Of course he is. Nobody knows who he is or what he did in the Imperial army. We are only sure that he wasn't an artilleryman, but he is the sergeant major in the mounted artillery battery."

Erick sighed. _This doesn't seems a garrison but a circus. _

* * *

The Southern Isles army reached the valley in front of the fortress by midday. A squadron of hussars appeared in the top of one of the hills and poured into the valley occupying positions to protect the deployment of the cannons and sending patrols to check the woods around.

"They are looking for ambushed cavalrymen. They would have discovered you." Knut said. He was seated on one of the battlements eating a piece of smoked pork while he beheld the deployment of the enemy army.

Reinhard at his side just grunted. The young dragoon wasn't in his best mood.

"They are just checking the border of the forest. I would have hide my men inside the wood leaving only one or two scouts to warn me of the approach of the enemy." Erick replied.

The three officers were in one of the bastions oriented to the south, the ones which overlooked the valley. Three cannons of Nelberg's mounted battery had been deployed on the top of that bastion and the remaining three in the other.

The top of the bastion was great enough to contain a complete battery of six heavy pieces of artillery. The three light cannons seemed pathetically small in front of embrasures designed for greater guns. They_ are like children occupying their parents place._ Erick thought looking in dismay to the small guns.

Nelberg, who had been warned of the enemy's approach, came walking steady but slowly as if he wasn't able to move quickly. _And here we have an old man occupying the place of his son. _Erick couldn't help thinking.

More cavalry arrived and an hour later, preceded by an infantry regiment, the four siege cannons of lower caliber arrived pulled by teams of oxes. They were escorted by cuirassiers clad in white. _Eastmark cuirassiers._ Erick thought remembering Count Erling.

The artillery crews started to move across the valley. Their officers looking for good positions to place the cannons and warily watching the castle.

"Let's bare our fangs." Nelberg shouted. "Fire!"

"Have you gone mad? They are too far." Erick shouted. But his voice was silenced by the explosion of the gunpowder. Great clouds of smoke covered the top of the bastions and the units in the valley suddenly stopped surprised by the thunder of the cannons. But the round cannonballs harmlessly hit the ground long before reaching them.

"With all due respect, colonel, we are wasting gunpowder and ammunition. This only will help the enemy to know the range of our defenses and choose the nearest safe place to place their cannons." Erick told to Nelberg.

The old man looked at Erick in amusement. "Are you trying to teach an artilleryman how to do his work. You said that you were a light cavalryman or do you want to switch to artillery?"

Erick took a deep breath as he controlled his initial reaction. "I want to switch to something useful. That bombardment is useless." Erick replied looking how the crews of Nelberg's cannons reloaded and fired again.

"I will decide what is useless and what isn't. I don't need a cavalryman to teach me."

"I agree with you sir. We need an artilleryman!" Erick retorted seething in anger as he turned on his heel to put an end to the conversation."

In that moment the two great twenty-four pounds cannons appeared and started to slowly move through the valley. The four smaller cannons had already chosen their locations and one of them had already unhitched the horses and left the cannon in its definitive position. The crew was already bringing the carts with ammunition closer.

Reinhard shook his head in disbelief. "They haven't even needed to dig trenches. They will begin to shell us in less than an hour."

"What do you mean with trenches?" Knut asked. He had been beholding in barely disguised astonishment the forces deploying in front of the fortress. He had been raised in Arendelle and was not used to see so many people.

"Usually a fortress have cannons greater or, at least, equal to the cannons of the besieging army. That combined with the upper position provided by the bastions give them a greater range." Erick explained.

"And the besiegers must dig trenches to approach to the fortress under their protection and make defensive protections for the cannons. Once they are completed, the cannons can be moved by night to their protected emplacements to begin the shelling." Reinhard went on.

"Usually digging the trenches and the emplacements take days. Days that would have allowed our army to reach the fortress on time." Erick added.

Reinhard nodded towards the artillerymen who were firing Nelberg's cannons. "But our cannons are pathetically small and theirs had greater range even being in a lower position."

"Why didn't Queen Elsa install heavy cannons?" Erick asked.

"If she had brought them, it would have been impossible to hide it. A great amount of people and draught animals would have been necessary and the Southern Isles would had discovered the existence of the fortress. Nelberg convinced her that Arendelle could keep the existence of this fortress secret from the Southern Isles. So them wouldn't bring a siege train and the light cannons of his battery would be enough to keep them at bay." Reinhard answered.

Erick looked in dismay at Nelberg who had approached to the battlements and was examining the cannons in the valley with a telescope. "But that's stupid. It's impossible to hide a fortress like that in the only way between both Kingdoms." Erick shook his head. "They will start the shelling soon. And the only thing we can do is to wait while our artillerymen waste our ammunition. We must make something."

* * *

"Why are they firing?" Hans asked when they reached the valley and caught sign of the fortress.

"I don't have the slightest idea. But the commander must be a fool to waste his ammunition in this way." Count Valsrom, who was ridding at his side, replied.

They were in the top of a little hill surrounded by a squadron of Uhlans armed with long lances which had been assigned to protect the King of the Southern Isles during his approach to the enemy fortress.

The thunder of the cannons had been audible from a long distance and both men had feared that something was going wrong. They hadn't expected that the cannons of the fortress were shooting just for pleasure.

"I have to talk with the commander of the vanguard!" Valsrom said putting his horse in a quick gallop. Hans followed him towards a low hill in the middle of the valley where the command post had been placed.

When Hans reached the provisional encampment, Valsrom was already talking with the colonel who had leaded the deployment of the army. The man turned in surprise when Hans approached to both men.

"King Hans. What a grateful surprise. I supposed that you wouldn't be able to join us after tonight terrible events."

"Luckily I haven't been harmed. The assassin can't say the same one of the guards wounded him in the left arm."

"The four guards he killed can't say the same either." Valsrom retorted obviously displeased by the interruption.

Hans wondered if the assassin who had tried to kill him last night had been sent by Valsrom. The Count was capable of all that and more and that would explain how the assassin had snuck unnoticed through the guards of the encampment and his personal guard. If a servant hadn't entered Hans' tent and discovered the assassin by chance, he would have cut his throat with the long knife with a white ivory carved handler which had been left stuck in the neck of one of the dead guards.

Hans shook his head. It was useless to worry about that. He had to assume that Valsrom still needed him. They had more important issues to deal with. The King of the Southern Isles paid attention to the conversation between Valsrom and the colonel.

"I don't know why they are firing, but it has been really useful to know his real range. We have moved our cannons really close. When we start to fire we could make a breach tomorrow evening and storm the castle that same night."

"Haven't you build protections for the cannons?" Valsrom asked.

"My men will build them when our cannons start to shot. The first sixteen-pounder is about to finish its deployment."

"What if they are shooting with less powder than usual and their cannons have actually a longer range."

"Their current reach is the correct for cannons of their caliber. Anyway I have left a gap of one hundred meters between my cannons and the limit of their cannonballs."

"I don't ..." Valsrom started to say but it was interrupted by the silence. The cannons of the fortress weren't shooting anymore. The entire army of the Southern Isles stopped their tasks and looked at the fortress in surprise asking why they had stopped so suddenly.

* * *

N.A: Hi Wayward. I'm happy you like the last chapter. Now we are going to follow Erick again for a few chapters (there is a war about to start). Regarding Berganza, the last thing he said to Ladislas was that he knew a way to punish the Southern Isles. ;)


	69. Arendelle's Reply

The sudden silence caught Erick and the other Arendelle's officers by surprise. They turned and discovered that all the artillerymen were leaving their post and going down the stairs. Nelberg was immobile watching the deployment of the enemy army in the valley and didn't even turn.

"Sir, the artillerymen have deserted the cannons." Reinhard said getting close to the colonel.

"Lieutenant I'm old, but not deaf yet." He replied without stopping from watching the valley. His attention was centered in one of the twenty-four-pounders which was the only cannon not deployed. Its crew was in that moment starting to unhitch the great horses which had dragged it.

"They don't want to wait for the Southern Isles' reply." Knut said looking at one of the sixteen-pounders which was about to shoot. The crewmen were dragging gunpowder bags and cannonballs from a nearby ammunitions cart.

Erick looked in dismay a the other bastion. Led by François, Nelberg's friend from the French army, the artillerymen had also left their cannons. "We would have never accepted to be enclosed like sheep for slaughter."

"Sir that sixteen-pounder is about to be ready. We must do something." Reinhard told Nelberg.

"It is not important." Nelberg said looking the crew of the twenty-four pounder who had unhitched the animals from the cannon. One artilleryman was bringing the team of horses towards a field, far behind the cannons; there the animals from the other cannons were already grazing.

"But..." Reinhard began to say but he was interrupted .

"Clear the way!" Nelberg suddenly shouted when the last team of horses was far away from the cannon.

An artilleryman who had been waiting in the stairs repeated the order and waved his arms towards the other bastion. Everybody heard the sound of pikes at work. In the wall of the nearby bastion they could see great pieces of masonry, which had been disguised as solid stone, falling to the ditch leaving four great square windows in the wall of the bastion.

"Weren't they supposed to be solid bastions?" Knut asked.

"It seems that there is a room inside them." Erick went up to the battlements and peered down. Four similar square windows had been carved in the faces of the bastion where he was." What are they doing?" He asked in loud voice.

"Waiting for that sixteen-pounder to shoot the first cannonball. We are going to leave them that honor." Nelberg replied with a sardonic smile on his face.

As if the Southern Isles' crew had heard his words, the sixteen-pounder shot. In a strange silence they could see the cannonball crossing the sky and hitting the ravelin in the middle of the two bastions.

"Taking into account that it's the first shoot, it is very good." Nelberg said before shouting and order. "Fire!"

immediately the bastion was surrounded by a thick cloud of smoke and a thunder, which made the sound of the cannons from the horse battery seem smaller, deafening everybody in the fortress.

The other bastion immediately also fired its cannons in the hidden room inside the bastion. Erick could see the great cannonballs flying over the valley passing over the enemy cannons and falling on the groups of horses and oxes which had dragged them. Some of the iron balls fell among the animals killing and wounding several of them.

The sound of the cannonballs hitting the ground and the whinnies of the wounded animals quickly spooked the entire herd which started to run. The artillerymen who took care of them desperately tried to control them since they were the only possibility to move the cannons towards a safe place, but the thunder of the cannons and the chaos around them provoked by the fleeing soldiers made it impossible.

All the southern isles' units near the fortress had begun to retreat, the correct word would have been run, trying to get away from the deadly cannons. But the valley was full of infantry companies and cavalry squadrons which had deployed to protect the cannons from a sally and now they were just easy targets for Nelberg's gunners who, once the draught animals had fled, mercilessly loaded and fired once and again against the units in the valley.

After several rounds, one of the cannonballs hit a group of hussars which was near one of the cannons. The great iron ball bounced several times on the hard ground leaving a bloody gap among the ranks of the cavalrymen.

Another hit a cart full of ammunition which exploded in a column of fire and smoke increasing the fear of the draught animals and killing all the men around it.

Nelberg stopped looking through his telescope. "Reinhard, gather your men and be sure that you get nails (*). I want you to render those cannons useless."

"Yes sir." The young lieutenant said.

"I ask permission to go with them." Erick said.

Nelberg nodded. "Assign a horse for Erick. You will wait my command. I want to be sure that the cavalry units had fled before you leave the fortress." Nelberg pointed with his finger at Reinhard." Remember that. Your objectives are the cannons. Don't get entangled with his cavalry."

Reinhard just nodded and went towards the stairs. Erick was about to follow him, but the colonel grasped his arm. "Come with me. You will carry my orders to the Dragoons at its due time."

The commander of the fortress, followed by Erick, went down a flight of stairs and entered into the room inside the bastion which had been closed until few moments ago. There, protected by the thick walls, Nelberg's men were manning four great cannons.

"Are they twenty-four-pounders?" Erick asked in amazement.

"Yes and we have gunpowder and ammunition enough to wipe out the entire Southern isles' army."

"How have you moved those cannons from Arendelle unnoticed? You should have needed hundreds of workers and animals to move them!"

"One person was enough, although I'm not sure if person is the correct word."

"Marshmallow!" Erick exclaimed. "Elsa's giant snowman carried the guns. Of course!"

"I see that you know him." Nelberg said as if the fact that Erick knew about Marshmallow was important. "It was worth seeing. He or it carried the cannons one by one and also the gun carriages. It was a great effort even for a creature like that."

"But how did you get the cannons? If Arendelle had bought eight cannons of such caliber, England would have discovered it.

"They were bought in France in secret. The person who negotiated the purchase believed that they were destined to an Indian Prince who wanted to raise against the British. The ship which was supposed to bring them to India stopped in Madagascar and transferred them to another ship. This process was repeated three more times, so when the last ship dropped the cannons in a deserted rocky shore North of Arendelle they didn't know even what was inside the boxes."

"How they disembarked something so heavy in a deserted shore. They would have needed a port to disembark them."

"They were instructed just to drop them into the water. Elsa's creature took them out."

"And nobody knew about them!"

"Only Queen Elsa, Princess Anna, Rolf, Corrado and François who helped me to clean them once they were out of the water. Even my own men didn't know about them until this very morning. We feigned to conceal the construction of the fortress to give an excuse to keep people away. So they wouldn't discover what we were really doing. Princess Anna described it as trying to hide an Elephant with a leaf and, while everybody was looking at it, sneak behind eight oxes unnoticed."

Erick couldn't help smiling when he pictured the young Princess saying that words.

Suddenly Nelberg started to cough. They were by the cannons and the smoke was so thick that it was difficult to breathe and the old man seemed about to choke. "Water. Please give me that canteen of water by the door." He uttered.

Erick turned, took and offered it to the colonel. He didn't realize that Nelberg had said his last words in Italian until he saw a triumphant smile on his face. He had been so excited by Nelberg's explanations that he had not noticed it.

"Thank you. But I'm better and I don't need the water." Nelberg said stopping his coughs. "You can go with Reinhard and depart to chase that cannons. Keep an eye on the lieutenant. He and his men have been trained as Cuirassiers (**) and it is possible that they have the temptation to engage the enemy cavalry in combat. Just kill as much artillerymen as you can catch, spike their cannons and return to the fortress."

* * *

The sun was setting and Erick went up the stairs to see the final results of their efforts.

They had been playing the cat and mouse with the enemy cavalry helped by the cannons from the fortress which tried to hit any enemy unit great enough to attack Reinhard's twenty dragoons.

Some of the Southern Isles' crews had remained in their cannons replying to the shooting from the fortress, but their position was hopeless. Once the valley was clear of great infantry and cavalry units Nelberg's artillerymen had centered their attention on them. One by one the cannons had been hit killing most of the men operating them.

Erick reached the top of the bastion. The small nine-pounders of the horse battery had already been removed. They would be useless there and Nelberg had ordered to move them down.

Erick got closer to the battlements and beheld the field of battle. Although the siege cannons had been hit by the shooting from the fortress and the carriages had been destroyed, it was not so easy to damage a gun made of cast iron. So the mission of Reinhard's men had been to render useless as many cannons as possible avoiding any confrontation with the enemy cavalrymen who had been brave enough to remain near them.

They had managed to drive a large nail into the vent of one of the twenty-four-pounders, but the other was protected by a group of infantry which defying the shooting from the fortress had moved the cannon behind a low hill and protected by the small elevation had deployed around the cannon to protect it.

So the Arendelle's dragoons had centered their attention in the sixteen-pounders and managed to spike one of them when the Eastmark's cuirassiers appeared.

_I don't know who is the leader of that squadron but he is good, very good_. Erick thought looking where several Arendelle's dragoons had been killed.

The white cuirassiers equipped with their cuirasses and high helmets had deployed in two parallel lines of sixty men each. They had formed while advancing forward so, when Erick and Reinhard realized what they were doing they were too close.

The thin and long lines were immune to artillery fire. The cannons need to target great groups where a cannonball bouncing could do a lot of casualties and the dead men or horses would become obstacles to the advance of their comrades who would break formation. With a line of one soldier the only option was to get a direct hit which would kill just a man or his horse.

Ignoring the shooting from the fortress the advancing line charged the small group of Arendelle's dragoons. If they had got close enough, the cuirassiers would have curved around Arendelle's men and the second line would have joined their comrades to give support. Once they were engaged, Arendelle's artillery couldn't have shot without killing their own men.

Reinhard's dragoons escaped by the skin of their teeth. Arendelle's horses were tired and the Eastmark's mounts were fresh. A group of them, whose horses were too tired, had been caught and exterminated by the cuirassiers, but the main group reach the safety of the fortress.

"They will recover the guns tonight. Under the protection of the darkness, the engineers will approach horses to drag the cannons to a safe place, but the carriages had been destroyed and it's no easy task to make a support for a siege cannon." Nelberg's voice said.

Erick turned to find the old colonel sitting on a box which had contained the cannonballs used by the light cannons. "Good evening Colonel."

"Good evening Imperial."

Erick weighed to deny it, but he decided that it would be useless. "How did you discover me?"

"By your accent when you got angry in my office. I noticed that your mother tongue is Northern Italian. I even was ruder than usual to provoke you and study your words."

"You are very skilled in Italian." Erick replied in surprise.

The artilleryman shrugged. "I was wounded at Ulm (***). It wasn't serious, but I was left behind with the soldiers who guarded the prisoners while Napoleon went on the campaign. As you can imagine there was a lot of Imperial prisoners after Ulm and a number of them were Italians. I had a lot of free time and used it making a linguistic study of the different northern Italian dialects."

"Linguistics is a strange hobby for an artilleryman."

"It would be more correct to say that artillery is a strange occupation for a linguistic." Nelberg retorted. "I was born in an Arendelle's noble family and its members were expected to join Arendelle's army, but I wasn't the heir so I was allowed to spend the early years of my life studying languages."

"There's a long way until being in Ulm fighting for Napoleon. How did you such a journey?" Erick asked.

"The best way to distract an old man's attention is to encourage him to talk about his youth. But it won't work with me. Tell me. Why is an Imperial fighting for Arendelle and bear a recommendation from Princess Anna? I'm sure that your story is more interesting than mine and more important in the current state of affairs."

Erick couldn't help smiling. "I won't talk about that, but I would be interested in hearing your story anyway."

The sun began to hide behind the mountains, its light suddenly fade. "Then you would have to pay for it. If you want to fight for Arendelle, I need to be sure that you will remain loyal to Arendelle almost for the entire war." Nelberg replied.

Erick shook his head. "I'm not loyal to Arendelle, but I will fight for it anyway." Erick hesitated before going on. "Is this enough for you?"

"Even if the Empire's interest collide with Arendelle's?"

"I don't know the current Imperial interests in this war, the Empire doesn't know where I am and I don't see any reason to change that for the entire war." Erick replied.

Nelberg slowly nodded. "I suppose that I should accept that as payment for the moment." Nelberg took a deep breath. "When the French revolution began, I was in Paris paying a visit to a French colleague and I went to the meeting of the National Constituent Assembly (****) which abolished feudalism and I went into rapture."

"Did you find a group of idealistic men creating a perfect republic?" Erick asked with a bit of irony in his voice.

"Most of them were idealistic, although they would heal of that soon." Nelberg wryly replied. "Others were just schemers who only seek their own profit, a few of them blood thirsty assassins, and others megalomaniacs which combined the worst of all the options. But almost everybody were fully aware that they were starting a new era in the history of the world which would be different to anything which had existed before and were bold enough to go towards it. "

Erick smiled. "If they wanted to build something different, Napoleon was very similar to a King."

The old man mouth twisted. "History repeats itself. The roman republic chose a dictator in times of trouble and he became emperor. All Europe was against us and we chose a consul who become Emperor of France. Sometimes trying to protect what we love the most, we become what we hate the most."

"But you joined Napoleon's army and followed him to Ulm." Erick went on.

"I was part of the army long before. When Prussia and the empire sent an army to defeat the new born nation, I had previously joined the army of volunteers which was formed to reinforce the regular army. There I met François and both together faced the Prussians in the battle of Valmy (*****)."

"Was François old enough to fight in Valmy?" Erick asked in surprise.

"He was nine year old when he enrolled as drummer in my company. His father had been killed in the early days of the revolution."

"And why are both of you serving a Queen? You don't seem very fond of crowns."

"After Leipzig, I decided to leave the French army and Elsa's father allowed me to return. I was tired of everything and I didn't want to fight for Napoleon anymore." Nelberg paused for a moment as if he was remembering too many things at the same time. "François joined me after the defeat at Waterloo. Having been a Colonel of the Grenadier guard, he wasn't comfortable in a monarchic France."

"François was a colonel of Napoleons' Guard!" Erick exclaimed." Why did he accept to be just a sergeant?"

"Queen Elsa would have given him the command of one of his companies, but he refused. He didn't want to be officer in a monarchic army." Nelberg replied, his voice had a hint of paternal pride.

"Did Queen Elsa talk with him?"

"The Queen came to my home with my nephew Rolf, the commander of Arendelle's army, and her sister, Princess Anna to convince me to create and command Arendelle's artillery. She also talked with François."

Erick shook his head in disbelief. "And how did she persuade you? Having fought against the crowns of Europe as statesman and soldier for twenty years, what kind of magic could change your..." Erick suddenly stopped talking and gaped in astonishment at the artillerymen. "Unless she didn't want you only as a soldier."

"I don't follow you." Nelberg replied obviously uncomfortable.

"Of course you follow me. Feigning ignorance won't work with me. What is she planning?"

"Nothing." Nelberg replied.

"Elsa is as bold as Anna. If she believed that it is her duty, she would dare to do anything." Erick said.

"You seem to know her well." Nelberg replied warily looking at Erick.

"Of course I do. Tell me what is she trying to do which is so appealing for a man like you. Please!"

Erick sounded so concerned that Nelberg just nodded and began to talk. "After the meal, Queen Elsa talked with me in private. She had studied the Code Napoleonic (******) and we talked for a long time about it and what it means. I can see her in front of me as thrilled by it as I had been when I was young during the Constituent Assembly."

Listening Nelberg's words, Erick couldn't help remembering the day he and Elsa had played a chess game and finally quarreled in front of Corrado's house. The chess board on the ground, the pieces scattered around and Elsa standing in front of him so furious that she couldn't help panting. "Does she want to apply that in Arendelle?"

"She would have established in Arendelle something similar to the attempt done during the first period of the revolution when we tried to create a new type of monarchy which shared its powers with an elected assembly."

"Didn't she read that the King was guillotined at the end?" Erick bluntly asked.

"You, the Imperials, always dislike anything new! The King was guillotined because he fought against the nation. Initially only a few wanted to kill him. Elsa would have protected it. She allowed Arendelle's merchants to get a share in the new harbor, so they would be a counterbalance against her barons."

"Didn't she realize that they could plot against the crown if they discovered what she planned? In the current situation this could be fatal!"

"Of course she realized that! She is more intelligent than you or me. She started some long term actions to avoid that. One of them was the artillery units. Cannons are expensive and Arendelle's barons couldn't afford to have their own units. She also decided that artillery would have soldiers from Arendelle and the four fjords as a first step to unify the army."

"So there wouldn't be more companies from the different fjords or from Arendelle. They would be mixed and the barons would lose their control over entire sections of the army."

"Yes. Her plans would have needed two or three decades to work. I wouldn't have seen it, but I'm sure that she would have made it! " Nelberg shrugged. "But this stupid crisis with England was unexpected and will ruin everything. The reforms haven't had time enough to make any effect."

Erick just looked at Nelberg in silence for a while. He was still picturing Elsa's slender figure in front of him quivering with rage, her delicate fists clenched. "Anyway she will fight to the bitter end." Erick said.

"Of course she will, but she doesn't stand a chance."

Erick raised his eyebrows. "But you have kept at bay the Southern Isles' army. Arendelle's army will arrive before they will be able to storm the fortress and then we could man properly the battlements."

"They are just pawns. A great power have several ways to get its objectives and England will finally destroy the Queen. She has too many enemies inside and outside."

"You also faced great enemies at Valmy and you defeated them and nobody had believed that you could win the battle."

"You are right." Nelberg replied nodding. "Everybody thought that the Prussian would effortlessly push aside our improvised army and march into Paris. Even us believed that. But in the pivot point of the battle, when the Prussians were about to charge against us, Kellerman made his cry and everybody forgot their fear and start singing (*******). That broke Prussians' spirit and, much to our own surprise, they started to retreat. Before the battle we felt defeated, after the battle everything was possible."

"Then why are you so sure that Elsa would be defeated?"

"Because they won at the end. They always win at the end." Nelberg replied and saying that he seemed older than his real age.

The sun had already disappeared behind the mountains and both men remained in silence for a long time in the darkness looking at the lights of the Southern Isles' army.

"If you are sure that we are going to be defeated, why are you here? Why do you fight?"

The old man was about to reply, but he was interrupted by the sound of cavalry moving.

Both men realized in surprise that the sound came from the North. A column of cavalrymen approached along the road which came from Arendelle. Making the last part of his way in the darkness, the mounted infantry from the Southern fjord leaded by Heinst, Reinhard's uncle, had reached the fortress at last.

* * *

(*) Spike a cannon: The operation of driving a large nail or iron spike into the vent of a piece of artillery which is a momentary business and renders it unserviceable. (Excerpt from Kevin Kiley's Artillery of the Napoleonic Wars Volume II: Artillery in Siege, Fortress and Navy).

(**) Cuirassiers: Heavy cavalry, usually equipped with breastplate armour and helmet and armed with swords, used as heavy shock force during the Napoleonic Wars.

(***) Ulm: The Battle of Ulm on 16 19 October 1805 was a series of skirmishes, at the end of the Ulm Campaign, which allowed Napoleon I to trap an entire Austrian army under the command of Karl Freiherr Mack von Leiberich with minimal losses and to force its surrender near Ulm in the Electorate of Bavaria.(Excerpt from Wikipedia)

(****) National Constituent Assembly: The National Constituent Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale constituante) was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789 during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved on 30 September 1791 and was succeeded by the Legislative Assembly. It abolished the feudalism, made the declaration of the Rights of man and wrote the first constitution of France which would try to stablish a constitutional monarchy. (Excerpt from Wikipedia)

(*****) Valmy: The Battle of Valmy was the first major victory by the army of France during the Revolutionary Wars that followed the French Revolution. The action took place on 20 September 1792 as Prussian troops commanded by the Duke of Brunswick attempted to march on Paris. Generals François Kellermann and Charles Dumouriez stopped the advance with an army composed of regular troops (white regiments) and citizen volunteers (blue regiments).

In this early part of the Revolutionary Wars known as the War of the First Coalition the new French government was in almost every way unproven, and thus the small, localized victory at Valmy became a huge psychological victory for the Revolution at large. The battle was considered a miraculous event and a "decisive defeat" for the vaunted Prussian army. After the battle, the newly assembled National Convention was emboldened enough to formally declare the end of monarchy in France and the establishment of the First French Republic. Valmy permitted the development of the Revolution and all its resultant ripple effects, and for that it is regarded as one of the most significant battles of all time. (Excerpt from wikipedia)

(******) Code Napoleonic: The Napoleonic Code (French: Code Napoléon, and officially Code civil des Français) is the French civil code established under Napoléon I in 1804. The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs should go to the most qualified. It was the first modern legal code to be adopted with a pan-European scope, and it strongly influenced the law of many of the countries formed during and after the Napoleonic Wars. (Excerpt from wikipedia)

(*******) Kellerman's cry: A pivotal moment in the battle of Valmy came when Kellermann, the French general, raised his hat and made his famous cry of "Vive la Nation". The cry was repeated again and again by all the French army, and had a crushing effect upon Prussian morale. The French troops sang "La Marseillaise" and "Ça Ira", and a cheer went up from the French line. To the surprise of nearly everyone, Brunswick broke off the action and retired from the field. (Excerpt from wikipedia).


	70. Northerners

"What do you mean with going back to meet my father?" Reihnard asked disgustedly.

"You know what I mean." His uncle Heinst replied.

The mounted infantry company from the southern fjord had entered into the fortress and a relieved Reinhard had gone to meet his uncle. The reinforcement of almost one hundred men earlier than expected and the fact that the reinforcement came from his home delighted the young dragoon. But, after the friendly meeting, Heinst had given him an impossible order.

"My men have entered in combat today against enemy cannons. Some of them have even died. I can't desert them to return with my father."

"Our cavalry alone against supported cannons? You are the only male heir of our family and your father doesn't want to leave your live in the hands of an old man who will risk it too much."

"Uncle Heinst, you always said that Nelberg had a lot of combat experience and you were right. He is a skilled artillerymen an has inflicted a serious setback to the Southern isles' artillery."

"Leaving you and twenty cavalrymen to face the entire Southern isles army!"

"It was a calculated risk and I think it was a sound maneuver!"

"Do your five dead comrades think the same?"

"They died fighting for Arendelle. I'm supposed to flee to hide inside my father's pants?"

"You will be protected by your own soldiers who will protect you if need arise."

"My father's soldiers you mean. I have my own soldiers who have already fought at great risk under my orders and I won't desert them."

Heinst shook his head in dismay. "Your father never liked that you commanded a unit formed by soldiers from Arendelle. Queen Elsa was very smart giving you that command."

"Uncle Heinst, this is absurd! We are also from Arendelle."

The old soldier sighed. "Your father doesn't believe that. And he is the head of our family."

* * *

Both men had been talking while they were crossing the courtyard of the fortress. It was already dark and the great space was empty but for a group of artillerymen who were working in the cannons of the horse battery.

Peter was one of these men. He was checking the contents of the caisson of his cannon muttering against his bad luck. In the barracks his fellow artillerymen were improvising a celebration for the outcome of the day and he, with nine other unlucky comrades of the other cannons, had been assigned to the useless task of leaving the six light pieces ready for field service.

"We have to talk."

The artilleryman raised his eyes to see who had talked. Ingolf and Aksel stood among the cannons. Both were sergeants, although luckily none of them was assigned to his cannon. Peter didn't like the blunt and curt Ingolf. Aksel, although being more likeable, had something disturbing about him that made Peter not to trust him.

"Who has to talk?" One of the other artillerymen asked.

"We, the men from the north." Ingolf replied. His thick accent revealed that he was from Ebbe's fjord.

Peter realized then that all the soldiers who were preparing the cannons were from the northern fjords. That's not just a coincidence. The artilleryman thought.

"The Northern fjords need us." Aksel, who was from Clarence's fjord, said.

"What are you talking about? We are already fighting for Arendelle." Peter replied as he approached both sergeants.

"Don't speak so loud. Do you think we are talking about a gift for Queen Elsa?" Ingolf curtly said.

"This isn't our war." Aksel said. "We leave this place tonight."

Peter saw that two other artillerymen were so surprised as him, but the others emphatically nodded. They were men assigned to Ingolf and Aksel's cannons and Peter supposed that they had been previously convinced.

"But fighting for Arendelle, we are fighting for the freedom of our fjord. If Arendelle falls we will be also conquered by the Southern Isles." One of the surprised soldiers said.

"We are fighting to avoid the marriage of Queen Elsa with a stranger. She prefers to spill our blood and risk a war against the southern Isles instead of accepting England's candidate." Aksel replied. "I'm not going to risk my life to keep frozen whatever the Snow Queen has between her legs."

"But what would our Barons think if we returned to our homes as deserters? Their soldiers serve in Arendelle's army and deserting one is deserting the other." The soldier asked.

Aksel nodded as if he had been expecting that question. "The Barons ordered Ingolf and me to do something like that to disengage our men from Arendelle's army. Elsa's caprices have condemned it and we won't share its fate. We will take control of the drawbridge and go out of this damned place."

"Reinhard's men will catch us in a few hours."

"No if we seek shelter in the Southern Isles' army."

"Why should they treat us better than Reinhard? We have killed their comrades today. If they caught us, they wouldn't be gentle."

"Do you believe that our Lord's would reveal themselves, if they weren't sure that the Snow Queen will be defeated? We will blow up the ammunition dump and the Southern King will be grateful to us."

"Are you crazy? That means to condemn our comrades." The other artilleryman said.

"The sooner we stop thinking about them as our comrades the better.!" Aksel exclaimed.

"You are defending them too much! Are you with the North or against the North?" Ingolf said in such a menacing tone of voice that Peter felt that going on with those arguments could be dangerous.

"We are Northmen and we don't have to quarrel. Have we?" Aksel said with a smile on his face.

Peter nodded his head and the other artillerymen did the same. He didn't dare to refuse. He could feel that it wasn't the right moment to do so.

Aksel nodded. "Peter, Holger you will come with me to the ammunition dump. Three will be enough for the work. The others go to the gate and discover who is inside. I want to know how many men we should fight to lower the bridge."

Before anybody could reply the sergeant went on. "Take that box of cannonballs and follow me."

Peter and the other soldier took the heavy box and followed the sergeant. Peter thought that he and the other reluctant soldiers had been included just to get more men to deal with the guards.

He wanted to raise the alarm, but what would happen, if the sergeants had told the truth? He and his family lived in Clarence's fjord and if the northern Baron had ordered to get rid of Arendelle, his revenge against the ones who disobeyed him would be relentless.

* * *

The lonely soldier was guarding the door of the ammunition dump. It was a little room under the basements of one of the bastions which faced North. The great bastion was supposed to protect the dangerous contents of the room and everybody knew from which side would come a possible attack against the fortress.

The soldier wasn't happy. He was one of Nelberg's artillerymen and had spent a good part of the day loading the cannons. He needed a rest, but Nelberg had made clear that one of his men should guard the ammunition. The devil take that grumpy old man. He thought. His comrades had received permission to make a little party to celebrate the feats of the day and they had even received a barrel of beer as a reward for their behavior.

He could hear the sounds of the party from one of the southern bastions. They won't leave a single drop for me. He thought. At that moment he heard the sound of people approaching. "Who is coming?" He said raising his spear, although he wasn't very adept at using it.

Three men, a sergeant and two soldiers of the horse battery, appeared. The men carried a heavy ammunition box.

"Sergeant, what are you doing here? Is the party in the barracks too vulgar for people like you?" The guard said looking at the three men. His voice was cheerful, but he kept the spear pointing towards them.

"Nelberg's fury would be too harsh for me." The sergeant cheerfully retorted. "He has been kind enough to charge me with the responsibility to prepare the canons of the horse battery and we have a spare cage of ammunition which must be returned to the ammunition dump. As you can imagine missing the party for such a vital task for Arendelle's security makes me happy."

The man on the door laughed looking at the heavy box and lowered his spear. "I haven't recognized you, at least you will take a drink when you finish." The guard suddenly frowned. "But these soldiers aren't assigned to your cannon. Why.." The man never finished his question. The sergeant drew his knife and stabbed several times in the belly with the point aimed upwards.

The guard's eyes widened in disbelief. He tried to raise the alarm, but the point of the knife had punctured his lungs and blood dripped from his lips. Anyway the sergeant put his hand over the man's mouth and stabbed him two times more. The man fell dead to the ground.

"Did you have to kill him?" Peter asked, looking at the dead man.

"I tried to put one of us to guard the door, but I couldn't insist on it too much. François could have realized that all the soldiers preparing the horse battery were from the Northern fjords, and since we are assigned to different sections he would have suspected." The sergeant replied as he produced a key from his pocket and opened the heavy door. "We must move quickly. Our companions must have already gotten the horses."

"Sergeant, how did you get the key?" The other soldier asked.

"I told François that we needed some boxes to replenish our cannons. I would have to return it as soon as possible. Enter the box inside and bring him. I don't want that somebody finds the corpse before we leave."

Once inside the sergeant took a long fuse from the ammunition box. "This a slow combustion fuse. Once we set fire to it, we will have half an hour to leave the fortress. Put those barrels of gunpowder together." He ordered while he started to carefully unroll the long string.

In fifteen minutes everything was ready, and after lighting the fuse, they left the room and went towards the gate. Near it, the other sergeant with five men were waiting for them.

"Is everything ready?" Asked Ingolf.

Aksel nodded. "We have less than thirty minutes to scape. Do you have the horses?"

"Two men wait with them in the stable. Once we get the control of the gate, they will bring them and we could escape." The sergeant replied with a Northern accent thicker than usual revealing his nervousness.

"Let's go then." Aksel said, heading towards the gate. The rest of the men from the Northern fjords, followed him.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" François asked in French.

Nelberg, who had been leaning on the battlements of a section of the Northern wall near the gate looking towards the road to the north, which was barely visible in the dim light of the moon, turned his head to face his old comrade. "I was just thinking how long it would take to my nephew Rolf and his young Queen to bring the army here. And what are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for the men who are replenishing the horse battery. The cannons seem ready and they should have returned the key of the ammunition dump, but I cannot find them."

"Maybe they are playing cards with guards in the gatehouse. I will go with you to recover your lost key and later we can drink together a glass of wine."

François nodded and started to walk towards the keep followed by Nelberg. "My men are also enjoying a little party to celebrate today's victory."

Nelberg laughed. "They feel that we have won the war."

The French grenadier nodded. "I didn't want to tell them the truth. They will discover it in the days to come."

Nelberg sighed. "The days to come will be hard. I'm sorry for having entangled you in this."

"Why? You fought for my country. Now I fight for yours. It seems fair." The Frenchman patted Nelberg's shoulder. "As always, you worry too much about what is correct or incorrect." Both men had already gone down the stairs and were crossing the courtyard. At that moment François saw two figures going up the stairs in the wall on the other side of the gatehouse. His keen eyes recognized Erick and Knut.

"Have you talked with the Imperial?"

Nelberg nodded. "Yes. He recognized to be an Imperial, but according to his words, he is fighting for Arendelle without the Empire's knowledge"

"He is a very good rider and it is easy to see that he is used to command. I suppose that he is a light cavalryman maybe even an hussar. It would be a good help, but he will be a danger if we aren't sure of his loyalty."

"He said that he will remain loyal to Arendelle until the end of the war.

"And do you believe him?"

"According to the letter, Princess Anna and Queen Elsa trust him."

"The letter was only signed by Princess Anna." François replied

"It was written by the Princess. I recognized her handwriting, but the words were from Elsa. Believe me! I'm a linguist and I know who had made a text, although somebody else had held the quill."

"Are you sure of that?"

"Of course I'm. Both sisters had very different styles and that letter was composed by Queen Elsa and written by Anna. Elsa trust him, but I can't imagine why."

"Maybe he is her lover." The Frenchman said with a joking smile on his face.

Nelberg burst out laughing. "Arendelle isn't Versalles and Elsa isn't a French King" He replied while both men crossed the arch which led into the gatehouse.

* * *

"Then after the sixth mountain we meet a plateau that connects with a little valley oriented to the North. Erick said looking towards the North. He could only see the dark figure of the mountain in front of them, which towered over the fortress, but he was looking as if he was able to see through the darkness and the distance.

You have a good memory! Knut replied smiling. He had been explaining to Erick the terrain between the fortress and Arendelle. After the long explanation they had gone to the battlement to enjoy the fresh air of the night and Erick had tried to recite by heart the explanations.

"Thanks. From that plateau we can also reach the valley that leads towards Reinhard's fjord. Is it correct?"

Knut nodded. "Yes. From that valley departs the other way that leads to Arendelle."

"The path of the messengers?"

"Yes. The path is shorter than the main one, but so rough that it is impassable for the carts. Our messengers reach Arendelle through it spending half the time they would need with the main one, but since our army needs carts to be supplied, it will have to go through the longest way. It will take some time to see my son."

"Do you have a son in Arendelle's army."

Knut nodded. "Mark's mother was from Arendelle and he always preferred the fjords than the inland valleys. He is the captain of the harbor's guard and has been put in charge of the protection of the new harbor's construction."

Erick remembered the tall man who had nearly run a harpoon through his head and a few days later had saved him from the fire. He realized that the young captain bore a resemblance to Knut. "Is he very adept at the harpoon?"

"Yes! I taught him to fish the salmon in the river when he was just a kid."

"You taught him very well." Erick replied. He couldn't help smiling when he remembered Mark's harpoon.

"Did you meet him?"

Erick was about to reply when a sudden shout broke the silence of the night. Both officers turned their heads in surprise. Sounds of combat were clearly audible. "That comes from the gatehouse." Erick said, but Knut had already started to go down the stairs.

Erick followed him. While they approached to the building that protected the only entrance to the fortress they heard the rattling of chains. "They are lowering the drawbridge. What the hell is going on?" Knut exclaimed.

A soldier of Arendelle staggered out through the arch that led to the outside door. He had both hands on his belly.

They passed by the wounded soldier drawing their swords and entered through the arch. Inside the keep they found Nelberg, François and two soldiers who had been guarding the gate fighting against six members of the horse battery.

But only two artillerymen were still on their feet a sergeant and a soldier. François with his saber covered in blood in his hand had cornered the sergeant in a corner and both men looked warily at each other.

The Frenchman knew that he had only to wait reinforcements and the sergeant didn't dare to attack to the grenadier who had killed four fellow artillerymen in a few minutes.

Nelberg kept the remaining artilleryman in one of the walls menacing him with the point of his sword.

"Raise the drawbridge! Quick!" Nelberg ordered to the two remaining guards. One of the sergeants from the North had released the lock of the drawbridge's windlass before being killed by François. The drawbridge own weight had lowered it and the fortress was vulnerable. Both men ran towards the windlass and started to raise the bridge.

"Knut, lock this man up. Erick, come with me. I want to check if..."

"Don't go out of the keep it is about to explode." The soldier said, his face white as a sheet.

"What is about to explode?" Nelberg asked.

"The ammunition dump. We put a..."

But the soldier couldn't finish his explanation. Nelberg's eyes gleamed with anger, and with a quick movement of wrist, the tip of his sword cut the soldiers' throat. Before the man fell to the ground, the old man had already turned and began to run towards the courtyard.

"Stop stupid Norwegian!" François shouted as he followed him. The sergeant tried to run towards the outside door, but Knut was too quick and interposed between him and his escape.

Erick was so surprised that he wasn't able to react until Nelberg and François were out of the keep. He went to the arch and saw both men running towards one of the bastions. The Frenchman was about to reach Nelberg, but before he could catch up his comrade a great explosion blew up the bastion. The great open space was instantly filled with smoke. Even being inside the gate, Erick was knocked down by the blast while little pieces of rock hit the walls of the gatehouse making a strange rattle.


	71. A New Jacket

Erick went out of the gate and got lost in the middle of the smoke. Pieces of rock still fell around him. He blindly staggered towards the last place he had seen the commander of the garrison and his loyal comrade.

"Nelberg, François." He shouted.

"Here! Help!" The voice of François replied in French.

Erick followed the sound among the smoke and was about to bump into the Frenchman. He was sitting on the ground with the head of his friend, who was stretched on the ground, on his lap.

"Is he fine?" Erick asked.

"No. I'm not fine." Nelberg replied while the Frenchman shook his head. The artilleryman had a great wound in his abdomen provoked by shrapnel.

"You need medical attention." Erick said.

"I need a report of the state of the fortress. You and Knut go to the remains of the northwestern bastion and check if there is a practicable breach."

Erick, suprised by the calm voice of the wounded old man, just nodded and went to fetch Knut. He found the infantry officer cleaning his sword in the gatehouse. The last surviving sergeant from the Northern fjords had tried a final trick to escape. They went to the battlements to see the effects of the explosion.

"A lot of my men were in that tower sleeping." Knut said as they approached to the pile of rocks which had been the bastion. Some men had climbed on it and were trying to find survivors.

Erick shook his head while he started to go up the stairs. "Nobody inside could have survived."

When both men reached the top of the wall they examined the defences. The bastion had collapsed, but its remains couldn't be climbed easily and the wall between the bastion and the gate had stood firm. "We have lost the bastion and the cannons which would have fired from it against the soldiers in the ditch, but anyway they won't find an easy way to assault the fortress." Erick said looking at the external walls of the bastion which still stood.

But a sad surprise awaited them at the other side of the bastion. The curtain wall had collapsed and a great breach had opened by the destroyed bastion. They went up to the top of an intact section of the wall. Erick shook his head. "They have a breach and the bastion which could have helped to protect it is destroyed."

"But we can put Pomeranian horses in the breach."

"The correct name is Frisian horses (*), and although they will impose a dearly toll in the attackers, they will go through them."

"Have you seen that slope?" Knut replied pointing at the ramp up formed by the rubble in front of the breach. "What kind of men are able to climb that while being attacked from the battlements?"

"The English call the squads which head the attack forlorn hope and the officers who lead them receive an immediate promotion. Believe me they know what they will find and they will attack anyway."

Knut didn't seem very convinced. "Let's brief Nelberg about that."

They met François in the courtyard carrying a blanket. The Frenchman had been ordered to check the state of the cannons of the horse battery.

"Nelberg is in the other ammunition dump." The Frenchman said when they asked about the commander of the fortress.

"Other ammunition dump?" Knut asked in surprise. "There was only one."

"There was a small secret one with extra ammunition in the other bastion facing North."

_Elsa always takes into account any possibility._ Erick thought.

"Why have them brought Nelberg there?" Knut asked. "He should be in his room."

"He wanted to be there." The Frenchmen replied with a slight tremble in his voice.

When they entered in the room under the bastion, they meet Reinhard and Heinst by Nelberg who was on a bed improvised with empty sacks. The Frenchmen retired a jute large sack, which had been used as improvised blanket, and covered the old man with the one he had brought. He made it so carefully that it was difficult to imagine him killing four men with his sword.

"Which is the state of the walls?" Heinst asked when they entered.

"Bad." Erick answered. "The western wall is damaged and they could launch an assault this very night."

"But, they will pay a dearly prize, if they try it." Knut added.

"It would be useless. They will take the fortress at the end. Since the Southern Isles army hasn't surrounded the fortress yet, we must leave the fortress and join the forces of my brother who is coming from the north." Heinst replied.

"You are too willing to leave Arendelle's main defence and join your people." Knut replied.

Heinst stiffened. "What are you insinuating?"

"We will decide later what we will do." Nelberg interrupted. "François what's the state of the cannons?"

"Luckily, the cannons were on the opposite side of the courtyard and haven't suffered any serious damage."

"We must move them to positions from which they can protect the breach." Knut said.

Heinst shook his head. "Our only option is keeping our forces together and this fortress isn't a valid place anymore. We must join Herolf."

"Do you want to keep our forces together or yours?" Knut replied.

"Return to your mountains and let true soldiers to wage this war." Heinst replied with a look in his eyes that provoked his nephew to interpose between both men.

"Stop!" Nelberg shouted suddenly. "If you want to fight somebody you have a lot of suitable candidates at the other end of the valley."

Both men stopped their discussion. Knut lowered his eyes and Heinst looked at the old man in embarrassment. "You are right Nelberg, but let's face the facts. You will be dead soon and we need a leader. Knut and I are the only Captains here you must choose one of us."

"I'm fully aware of that and I will give you my last orders in a few minutes. Now let me alone, I must think."

Heinst didn't seem pleased, but nodded and left the room followed by Reinhard. Erick was about to follow Knut, but Nelberg waved at Erick to stay in the room.

The old man turned his head towards François who had remained at his side. "Leave me alone with Captain Melgaard." Nelberg said using the surname of Erick's mother.

The sergeant nodded and left the room. When he passed by Erick, the young Imperial could see a tear sliding down his cheek.

"What do you think?" Nelberg asked while he raised the blanket which covered him and looked in disappointment at his abdomen.

"Your wound is serious. I'm sorry, but you won't survive."

"That's obvious!" Nelberg replied. "I was talking about the current situation of our forces. Do you think the fortress can be defended?"

Erick slowly shook his head. "The breach is to big and we are too few to man it properly. They will stuff their soldiers through the breach until we are overrun. We will make a massacre among their ranks, but this is usual when taking a fortress."

Nelberg nodded with a strange look of relief in his pale face. "François agrees with you. Then what would you do? What do you think it's the best course of action for Arendelle?"

"Is the horse battery the only field battery in Arendelle?"

Nelberg nodded in silence.

"Then we must save its cannons and the artillerymen. The army of Arendelle will be forced to face the Southern Isles' army in a pitched battle or surrender. They will need the cannons to have a chance."

"They won't stand a chance even with the cannons." Nelberg replied.

"Would you have surrendered before Valmy? It was a losing battle, but you fought anyway."

"But we were fighting for something more important than us."

"Me too." Erick just replied.

Nelberg's piercing eyes looked fixedly at Erick. "Why are you so willing to fight for Arendelle. I need to know it!"

"This is a private issue and I'm not going to explain it neither you nor the man who will lead the cannons to the North."

"That man will have problems enough to care for your loyalty. Convince me of your loyalty and you will be allowed to go with them else you should go away." Nelberg winced before going on. "Don't worry about your secret. I will be silent as the dead, although it won't be very difficult for me in a few hours. I promise to keep the secret for the next hours until I die."

Erick hesitated for a long moment until he decided that the old man deserved his trust. "I am doing it for a woman from Arendelle."

"A woman?"

"I know it may seem a nonsense."

"I have fought my entire life trying to make a better world. Believe me, I know a lot about nonsenses." The old man replied with an amused smile on his face. "And who is the lucky woman who..." Suddenly his eyes widened and looked at Erick in astonishment. "Is Queen Elsa that woman?"

Erick slowly nodded.

"I should have supposed it when you talked about her in the battlements." Nelberg sighed. "I suppose that I have to accept that explanation is too stupid to be a lie."

"Will you recommend your successor to trust me?"

The old artilleryman looked at the young hussar for a long time before replying. _I hope that Queen Elsa __has__ been as smart as she uses to be._ He thought. _At least the Imperial has a clear idea of what is necessary to do_. "You will command this force from now on. You must bring those cannons to your sweetheart. In the present circumstances, she will like them more than a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers."

"What!" Erick exclaimed in surprise. "Are you crazy? There are two captains from Arendelle that should take command before me."

Nelberg shook his head. "Reinhard and his uncle Heinst are from the Southern fjord. They only think about protecting their home. I can't entrust Arendelle's only hope to them."

"Reinhard is a brave and able officer and he will be loyal to Arendelle"

"Of course he is, but his family isn't so loyal and I can't take that risk."

"And what about Knut?"

"Knut is an outstanding scout and a good leader of militia, but he isn't a professional soldier and lacks military training. He loved too much his mountains and isolated valleys to spend several years abroad in a military academy. He doesn't fully realize the importance of the cannons. He can't understand their effect in a battle, won't really care for them and would prioritize saving as many men as possible instead of protecting the cannons."

Erick sighed and looked at Nelberg in silence.

"I don't like to give you the command, but you seem the best available option." The old man finally stated.

"I also don't like being chosen."

"That confirms that you are the right option. But we are not talking about what you or I would like to do. We are talking about what we must do. So, will you defend Arendelle to the bitter end or will you leave Queen Elsa alone?"

* * *

"This is highly irregular. I or Knut should take the command of the remaining forces." Heinst, who was beside his nephew Reinhard, said.

"You have read Princess's Anna's letter." Nelberg who was still on the floor of the ammunition dump replied. The blanket over his belly was stained with blood and his face was pale, but his voice hadn't lost his force. "He is a Captain of Arendelle's army and he will command the forces of the garrison to meet the army."

"The letter only says that he must be treated as a Captain." Heinst replied.

"Part of the treatment of a Captain is to obey his orders." The old man retorted with a smile. "If you don't agree present an official complaint against me to the Queen when you meet the army. Now we must stop talking! The Southern Isles' commander must be preparing an assault against the breach and you must be away before they launch their attack. Have my men rendered unusable the heavy cannons?"

Knut nodded. "Yes. We must also destroy this depot. We have prepared a cart to transport you."

Nelberg shook his head. "I will stay here. Anyway I will be dead in an hour and I have a better use for this ammunition."

"We can't leave you here!" Heinst said.

"You are not going to leave me here. I choose to stay. Prepare a fuse ready to provoke the explosion of the gunpowder and leave me a torch. I will make that invaders to pay an appropriate price for this fortress."

* * *

They tried to convince Nelberg to go with them, but the old man was adamant. Finally they left the man alone and went to prepare the departure. Erick went to the southern battlements to watch the enemy encampment. Even in the darkness it was easy to see that there was a lot of activity.

_Their scouts must be spying us and studying the breach._ The young Captain thought.

"I have something for you." A voice said in French.

Erick turned to face François who was handing him a dark green jacket. "Nelberg thinks that, since you are going to command Arendelle's soldiers, you must wear an appropriate uniform."

Erick took the jacket. It was tailored in an old fashioned French style. In fact, it was the jacket of a revolutionary French soldier. "Is it Nelberg's jacket?"

The Frenchman nodded. "It's from his dress uniform. He is taller than you, but this is not the moment to worry for that details."

Erick nodded while he put on the jacket and François couldn't help smiling.

Erick smiled also. "I suppose that it doesn't suit me very well."

"No. I was just thinking that Nelberg would have found amusing seeing an Imperial dressed like a French revolutionary."

Erick couldn't help also smiling. "An Imperial Count." He added.

"Of a long and prestigious lineage?"

Erick shrugged. "Six generations if you only take into account the Italian branch. It disappears in the midst of time if you include also the Hungarians."

"Were all of them soldiers?"

Erick nodded. "Usually hussars."

"I'm the son of a cooper who died in the storming of the bastille and I can't even tell you the names of my great grandparents."

"Is that why you joined the army at Valmy?"

The Frenchman nodded. "After that battle the National Convention gathered the courage to sentence the King to death. I went with my mother to see the execution of the King in the guillotine."

"But there is again a King in France."

The Frenchman shrugged. "Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. That doesn't change that we won then. Half our soldiers were common citizens with only a year of training, but we defeated an army of equal size formed by trained professional soldiers and commanded by Counts of prestigious warrior lineages who knew better than us how to wage a war."

Erick couldn't help feeling sympathy for the pride in the Frenchman's voice. "The other half of your army were professional soldiers and they included the best artillery of Europe. And your leaders, although they had chosen to join the revolution, were noblemen who had previously served the King of France." He replied.

François nodded. "Yes, you can't get a general in a year, but later non noblemen generals like Soult, Massena or Davout commanded us."

"But you are now fighting in the army of a Queen commanded by a nobleman from Arendelle."

"Nelberg gave his word that Queen Elsa wasn't a common Queen. According to him, she would be better for Arendelle's people than any other option."

"And you risk your life only for Nelberg's word."

"I don't know if it is the same for Counts and other noblemen, but for the son of a dead cooper a man only has his word."

* * *

The sun was starting to raise over the mountains. Erick was on his horse in a narrow mountain path which climbed a steep slope. Behind him Reinhard and his fifteen men formed the rearguard. He reached the top of the ridge and looked at the other side of the mountain. In the bottom of the valley, they could see the six cannons of the horse battery escorted by Heinst's mounted infantry.

"I can't see Knut's men." Reinhard said.

"I ordered him to go ahead. He and his mounted infantry will prepare an ambush for the cavalry which will chase us. Hopefully we could hit them hard and stop their pursuit. If we don't manage to do it, they will catch the cannons in a few hours."

"Knut has few men."

Erick nodded. Knut's company had lost many men in the explosion. "But they are the best suited to make an ambush in this valleys. Have you sent the messenger?"

Reinhard nodded. "The best rider from my uncle's company." He will reach the army in a few days.

"Didn't you send one of your men?" Erick asked, remembering Nelberg's suspicions about Heinst's men.

"I need them here. And he is a good rider." Reinhard replied.

Erick nodded. It seemed a good reason. _This is going to be a difficult journey if I can't trust my men._

"Do you think he will make it?" Reinhard asked.

For a moment, Erick thought that the dragoon was talking about the messenger, but he realized that Reinhard was looking backwards towards the valley they were leaving. Erick turned and looked at the fortress. When the Southern Isles' army explorers had realized that it was abandoned, the assault squads had been sent to climb the breach. Now King Hans' flag flew on the top of the remaining northern bastion and the battlements were full of his soldiers.

"Maybe he hasn't been able to stand until..."

Erick's words were interrupted by a great explosion, which was contained by the thicker external walls of the bastion and threw a deadly rain of stones and other rests into the crowded courtyard. The great tower slowly collapsed and Erick could hear the cries of the soldiers in their battlements who fell with it. Finally there only remained a pile of earth and stones. The flag and the soldiers in the bastion had disappeared.

"Or maybe he stood after all." Erick completed with a smile on his face. "Let's move, the Southern Isles' cavalry won't be in the best of its moods when they chase us."

"Nelberg has given them very good reasons for that." Reinhard replied smiling back at Erick.

* * *

(*) Frisian horses: A portable frame ( sometimes just a simple log) covered with many projecting long iron or wooden spikes or spears. They were intended principally as an anti-cavalry obstacle but could also be moved quickly to help block a breach in another barrier (Excerpt from wikipedia).


	72. In the Way from Arendelle

"Then Eastmark forces were defeated?" Anna asked in dismay.

Rolf, who stood in front of both sisters by Asgrim, one of the Southern Barons of Arendelle, nodded. "Yes. Count Erling of Eastmark was very intelligent using different excuses to gather almost all the units of the Southern Isles' army composed of Eastmark soldiers."

Both sisters were on a low stone wall which surrounded a little field. In a nearby path, Arnedelle's army marched in its way to the South.

Rolf knelt and stretched out a map on the ground in front of Elsa's feet. "He also raised a militia and tried to join with the regular units. But they were intercepted by a Southern Isles' army and defeated." Rolf pointed a crossroad out in the map. It was between the city of Westergard and Eastmark's border.

"Is Erling alive?" Elsa asked.

"Yes. Now, he is trying to find a way to join his militia with the regular units which are intact and bring them into his homeland where they will receive the support of the people."

"How has he been able to organize a revolt?" Anna asked. "You told me that he hasn't resources enough to make it."

"Kai is sure the Empire is behind it." Elsa added as she raised a letter which she had received from Arendelle that very day. "Duke Berganza left Arendelle a few days ago. Now we know where he went. Imperial gold and support could explain why Eastmark has managed to revolt."

"Do you think that they would be so unsubtle? England wouldn't be pleased by that." Rolf asked.

"I think that they did it on purpose." Elsa replied. She exchanged a sidelong glance with Anna. Both sisters had been talking about that during the breakfast. They had received a secret letter from Kurt von Schrader. The Prussian young diplomat warned them about the possible Empire's utilization of that maneuver to require more control over Arendelle because they had helped to neutralise the Southern Isles' menace.

Elsa went on. "They wanted to state clearly that the Empire has power even in Scandinavia. The Southern Isles' declaration of war against us showed their weak position in the North of Europe."

"Maybe Hans will retreat his army from Arendelle when he receives the news of the revolt in his home. His troops will be needed against Eastmark." Anna said.

Elsa shook her head. "He can't. When Hans declared war on us after the massacre of Imperials..." Elsa stopped talking and Anna realized that she had an absent expression on her face, as if her mind was elsewhere.

_The march from Arendelle has been too hard for her. _Anna thought. Although a cook from the castle had volunteered to go with the army to make special dishes for her sister, the Queen of Arendelle health hadn't improved and her mind lost the thread of the conversations.

In fact, Anna had proposed to stop there to talk about the disturbing news because she wanted to provide the Queen a valid excuse to rest. Since breakfast, Elsa seemed to be at the end of her tether.

Elsa seemed at last to recover and went on with her explanation. "When Hans declared war on Arendelle, he obtained England's protection in exchange. If he retired his troops, Lord Halkett wouldn't forgive him."

"He is so trapped as us. Isn't he?" Anna replied, although it was difficult for her to concentrate on politics when her sister seemed about to fade.

"As a figure in a chess game." Elsa replied in a very low voice. "And we have lost a rook. Rolf, have you spoken with the messenger from the southern passes?"

The commander of Arendelle's army nodded. "He just added some details. The messenger confirmed the death of Nelberg. The remains of the garrison are heading North trying to save the cannons."

"Who is commanding them?" Elsa asked.

Rolf shook his head. "The letter doesn't say that and the messenger speaks about a Captain whose name he doesn't know."

"Heinst or Knut should be in command." Asgrim stated.

"The messenger says that neither of them is in charge. They are under the command of the unknown Captain. The messenger described him to me, but I'm not able to recognize him."

"Whoever is in command, he will need our help and the horse battery is vital if we have to face the Southern Isles army. We must send our cavalry to help them to protect the cannons." Elsa stated.

"Do you still want to confront the Southern Isles' army in a pitched battle?" Asgrim asked. "We should retreat to Arendelle and wait there the enemy. The castle would give us protection."

Elsa slowly shook her head and sighed as if it was a great effort to reply the Southern Baron. "Arendelle's castle is old and useless against the cannons. It wouldn't give us any advantage and the townsfolk would suffer the effects of the battle."

"But if you send all our cavalry the army will be like a blind man walking. We won't be able to send explorers." Asgrim said.

"If we don't get those cannons, we can't face the enemy anyway." Rolf retorted. "We have to send all the available cavalrymen to ensure that they give an effective help to the cannons."

"Even if that implies the risk of losing all the cavalry with the horse battery." The Baron asked.

Elsa nodded. "If we lost any one of them, we would be doomed anyway. When would the cavalry depart?" Arendelle's Queen asked Rolf.

"We have only half of the cavalry with us. The rest is on patrol. Tonight all the patrols will return to the army an they could depart tomorrow."

"Send a patrol now with the best riders." Elsa said. "They will advise the cannons that reinforcements are on the way."

"And what are they supposed to do? Stop and wait for us?" Asgrim asked.

"They must go on towards the North until they meet the army there." Rolf's finger pointed a spot surrounded by mountains on the map." If we have to fight in a pitched battle, that valley is the best place. It is very narrow, so their greater numbers in infantry and cavalry won't be fully effective."

Anna didn't listen to Rolf's explanations. The place had been chosen a long time ago to face an attack from the South if a pitched battle was necessary and she knew its virtues. She instead looked at her sister who tried to listen, but the Queen's eyes seemed about to close. Luckily, both men were too busy talking about the valley to notice it.

"A narrow space means crammed men and they will have more cannons than us. They will just shell us until we break formation."

"We have plans to counteract that, but we need the cannons." Rolf replied.

"I'm allowed to know how?" Asgrim replied.

"We have to send our men as soon as possible." Anna interrupted. "Please Rolf, could you give the orders right now? Once the men depart, you can share the plan with the Baron." The Princess of Arendelle didn't want to extend the meeting and exhaust the scarce forces of her sister.

"I will give the orders. The first patrol will leave in a few hours. Harald will depart tomorrow with the rest, when all the patrols return." Rolf turned to face Asgrim. "Please Baron, would you come with me? So I could explain you all the details."

* * *

When Rolf and Asgrim left both sisters alone, Elsa covered her face with her hands while her sister fanned her. "Thank you Anna. I was about to fall asleep."

"You aren't fine. You must be in Arendelle. " Anna replied.

"This is out of discussion. I'm just tired and I will depart tomorrow with the cavalry."

Anna looked at her sister in dismay. "Since you didn't tell Rolf anything, I supposed that you had changed your mind."

Elsa shook her head. "You appropriately interrupted the meeting before I introduced the issue, but I will tell Rolf as soon as possible that I will go with the main group of dragoons tomorrow."

"Elsa, don't go with the cavalry. In your current state, it is madness." Anna begged.

"I have to go with them. It is necessary for my plan."

"I don't like that plan."

"Me neither. But we are in a hopeless situation."

"Elsa, you are Hans' primary target. I he killed you, he would prevail. And you are going to put yourself in his hands."

"Don't you trust your husband's skills?" Elsa replied, trying to smile at her sister.

"Kristoff is the best for that work, but it is too difficult even for him. Am I supposed to patiently wait while you risk your lives?"

Elsa, head between her hands and her elbows on her knees, seemed unable to stand up, but her reply was firm. "I'm sorry Anna, but that's exactly what you are going to do. I need you in front of the army. You are the crowned regent and they will see in you the symbol of our house in my absence. If you also disappeared, our men would believe that we have deserted them and they would lose their courage."

Anna knew that she was defeated, but she made a last attempt." Are you sure of what you are going to do? Are you fully aware of what it means?

Elsa grimly smiled. "It means that Lord Halkett was right and I'm a monster."

"Don't say that!" Anna shouted as she got up.

But her sister raised her hand to stop her and looked at the path where the army was still marching. Two riders were approaching to both sisters. One of them, a bald man with a great scar crossing his face, stopped when they were close and waited while the other got closer to both sisters.

"I'm sure that he won't consider you a monster." Anna ironically murmured when she recognized Prince Antanas from Lithuania.

"Good morning Prince Antanas." Elsa formally said, ignoring Anna's comment as she stood up.

"Queen Elsa, Princess Anna." The young Lithuanian said before stopping and getting down from his horse. He tried to ignore Elsa's cold tone of voice. He hadn't dared to talk to the Queen since the day he had kissed her and Elsa had also avoided him. Both sisters and the Prince stood in silence looking at each other.

"Congratulations. I have been told that Eastmark has rebelled against the Southern Isles' rule." Antanas finally said, breaking the strained situation.

"I'm sorry to say that they have been defeated." Elsa replied.

"A battle isn't a war. We the Lithuanians learned that fighting against the Empire. Anyway even if the Count of Eastmark is crushed he will divert resources from Hans' army."

Elsa nodded. "You are right. What can I do for you Antanas?" Elsa sharply replied.

'I would like to talk with you in private."

Anna couldn't help smiling at the young man's directness. Elsa had explained to her what had happened in Arendelle and instructed her younger sister not to leave her alone with him. _Elsa is better dealing with diplomats than men in love_. _If she is going to reject Antanas, he deserves a direct response._ Anna thought and was about to leave them alone in spite of the received instructions, but she was too worried by Elsa's state.

"You can tell me whatever you want in front of my sister." Elsa calmly replied.

Antanas hesitated and looked at Anna, who remained in silence at the side of her sister and looked at him with sympathy. "I stated my situation clearly the last time I met you." The Lithuanian told Elsa.

"That's for sure!" Anna couldn't help exclaiming. "Ahem. I mean..." Anna hesitated in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. Please, go on."

Antanas nodded and went on as if he hadn't heard anything. "And I would like to receive a response from you." After Anna's slip the young man seemed less tense.

Elsa thought for a while before replying. "Antanas I consider myself a married woman."

"Is Duke Adrian Simonyi so important for you?" Antanas asked in surprise. "Anyway your marriage has been postponed maybe forever."

"Maybe it is more correct to say that I consider myself a widow."

Antanas and Elsa looked at each other in silence for a long while. Anna desired to be as far away as possible, but she remained with her sister trying to simulate that she wasn't following the conversation.

"I can understand your feelings, and truth to be told, I expected a reply like that." Antanas finally replied.

"I'm sorry Antanas." Elsa said. For a moment, sadness gleamed in her eyes.

But it was Antanas' turn to stiffen. "I ask your permission to go with the cavalry patrol which is about to depart." He replied in a formal tone of voice.

Elsa also stiffened. "Do you know where it goes?"

"Everybody in the army knows that they must meet the garrison from the southern passes."

"So do you know that the mission is too dangerous to allow the heir of Lithuania to join them." Elsa replied.

"I have come with the army to see real battles and I want to see such a retreat through mountains. I assumed that it will imply some risk."

Elsa couldn't help frowning at Antanas words." I'm sorry but this war hasn't been started to satisfy your curiosity. Arendelle is responsible for your security, but my dragoons can't? take care of you."

"I don't expect their protection. I have been trained as a cavalryman, and although I'm young, I have seen more battles than most of your men. I won't be a burden for them." Antanas replied.

Elsa took a deep breath before talking. "Antanas you will remain with the army or I will send you back to Arendelle." When Elsa said the last words she lost balance for a second and tottered as if she was about to fall.

Anna was about to force her sister to sit, but she feared to show her sister's weakness in front of Antanas.

The young Lithuanian was so affected by the conversation that he hadn't realized Elsa's momentary weakness. "Then I will leave the army. I'm not one of your subjects."

"Will you leave Arendelle in that case?" Elsa replied. She tried to talk in the imperious tone of voice for the official occasions, but her voice trembled instead and she involuntarily raised a hand to her right temple as if she had a headache.

"Elsa?" Anna said worried by Elsa's movement.

"Since I'm not part of this army anymore, I can go wherever..." Antanas stopped talking finally realizing that something was wrong.

Elsa suddenly lowered her arm as if she had realized what she was doing and clenched her fists. "Prince Antanas I'm not going to..." She started to say, but she suddenly fainted and only Antanas quick reflexes saved her from falling to the ground.

"Elsa!" Anna shouted as she approached to her sister who was motionless in Antanas' arms.


	73. Beautiful Dream

Erick opened his eyes and looked around in surprise. The last thing he remembered was that he was trying to help Reinhard, who had received the blow of a lance in the head.

They had been delaying the Southern's vanguard, facing Hans' cavalry several times in the last days to give time to the cannons. Every favorable place had been used to organize an improvised stronghold.

A narrow mountain pass and a well placed group of hills that blocked the path had been occupied by Knut's or Heinst's men. The Southern Isles' vanguard, formed by cavalry, was unable to take that positions and had to wait for the slower infantry.

During the night, before the enemy army arrived, the mounted infantry left its position. A rearguard kept the fires ablaze simulating that they were still holding the position. That rearguard withdrew just before dawn. It was a risky business because the cavalry, which was waiting in front of them, could easily wipe them out.

The two previous times, they had managed to scape, but it hadn't worked that day. Knut's men had been defending a bridge over a precipice. An enemy vanguard formed by Uhlans had reached the other side the day before.

Arendelle's soldiers armed with spears manned an improvised barricade made with trunks at the Northern side of the bridge and some archers shot their arrows to keep away the Uhlans. The cavalrymen decided that charging through the narrow bridge would be useless and they camped waiting for the slower infantry and cannons which would allow to easily clear the way.

The most of Arendelle's troops retired during the night. Only a last rearguard led by their Captain remained guarding the bridge. Erick, Reinhard and his Dragoons were hidden in a thicket of beeches on a nearby hill to provide a quick support if the sentinels of the Uhlans discovered the retreat and tried to harass them.

The last retreat started an hour before dawn. The men began to slowly sneak where their horses awaited them. In a few minutes they would be riding trying to avoid being caught by the enemy. But when only a part of Arendelle's soldiers had left the barricade, a group of Uhlans which had managed to cross the precipice, leaving their horses in the other side and walking throughout the night, attacked them.

Arendelle's soldiers were caught by surprise and, making matters worse, the Uhlans in their encampment were waiting for that. When they heard the first sounds of combat, the cavalrymen jumped to their saddles and charged through the bridge.

Knut was one of the first men to fall. He was with some archers in the barricade and tried to hold back the cavalry charge. He dodged a lance which would have impaled him and cut down the Ulhan with a quick slash of his sword, but another rider pierced his right shoulder. The cavalrymen skillfully used the speed of the horse and the point of the lance ripped flesh and bones. Kunt lurched trying to stay on his feet, but another enemy hit his back with the butt of the lance and the Captain fell to his knees. The cavalrymen gathered around him as they speared him .

Erick had dismounted and gone out of the beechwood to have a clear vision of what was happening. He was about to return with Reinhard and his dragoons when he heard the sound of hooves behind him. He turned to see in astonishment Reinhard, followed by his dragoons, ridding out of the forest and charging.

"What the hell are you doing! Stop!" Erick shouted, but the young lieutenant didn't hear or obey him and the charge went on down the slope.

Erick swore at the impulsive Dragoon while he ran for his horse. He had placed Reinhard's men in the group of trees to reject an improvised attack if a sentinel discovered the retreat. Fighting against a complete squad which outnumbered them was out of the question. Even worse Reinhard's few cavalrymen were vital to protect the cannons.

Erick hopped on his mount and put it into a full gallop trying to catch Reinhard and force him to retreat. But the Dragoons clashed with the Uhlans before he could reach them. The Uhlans were surprised by the unexpected charge and Reinhard cornered the few mounted enemies that had crossed the bridge against the barricade.

For a moment it seemed possible to save the day , but Knut's men were too few and they were fleeing. The dismounted enemies attacked the Dragoons from the rear and more Uhlans poured into the battle through the bridge.

Erick drew his saber and joined the melee trying to reach Reinhard. The men would follow their leader's orders, so Erick had to convince him to retreat. But Erick had just hit the face of an enemy on foot with his saber when he saw an Uhlan charging with his lance against Reinhard, who was busy running an enemy sergeant through with his long and straight sword.

Erick couldn't do anything but shout a warning. The Arendelle officer turned just in time to deflect the point of the lance with his left hand, but it was too late. The point of the lance hit his face just over the left eye and blood poured over his face.

Half blinded, Reinhard caught the pommel of his saddle, trying to stay on the horse. Erick spurred his mount to get closer, but then he heard a loud whinny and his horse collapsed. Instinctively, Erick tried to free his feet from the stirrups, but he fell to the ground and his head hit a stone.

* * *

He opened his eyes surrounded by dead men. Uhlans, dragoons and Arendelle's infantrymen. Knut was a few meters away from the barricade. The infantry captain had instinctively curled up trying to protect himself, but the lances of the Uhlans had brutally pierced his back.

Erick couldn't see anybody alive. He tried to find Reinhard's corpse, but the lieutenant wasn't among the dead. Maybe he managed to scape. He was the only officer apart from Erick and François who fully understood the importance of bringing the cannons to the rest of Arendelle's army. But being a Frenchman, François couldn't impose it on the rest of the officers.

Erick was confused. The sun was high in the sky, so the army of the Southern Isles' should already have arrived, but the barricade still blocked the bridge, although it was manned only by dead men.

I must try to join with Arendelle's soldiers. If I head to the North, maybe I will find one of our scouts or I could steal a horse from an enemy encampment. Erick thought as he started to walk towards the mountains to the North.

He had just walked a few meters when he noticed a dead man clad in the uniform of Westergad's Hussars. Maybe a group of Hussars joined the combat once I was unconscious. Erick said inwardly, but he realized that the Arendelle's soldiers who were dead among the Hussars weren't Knut's men. They belonged to Heinst's company. He was able to recognize a tall and hefty sergeant who had died two days before when a group of Hussars attacked their rearguard.

Who had moved these dead here? Erick wondered when he realized that more dead soldiers from different moments of the retreat were in different groups that were ordered in a line that headed towards the north. Erick started to follow the way indicated by the dead men.

In a nearly wood, he found a group of dead civilians. Among them were some of the men he had killed in Westergad the day of the massacre of Imperials. That must be a dream. Something hit me and I had been left unconscious in the field of battle.

A few meters forward, there were two men. When Erick reached them, he recognized Emil and Peter, the men who had tried to kill Elsa. I killed these men and also the others in Westergard. Suddenly Erick realized that being the leader of the Arendelle's soldiers, in a certain way, he was also responsible for the deaths of those men during the retreat. Nelberg had correctly said that the main priority were the cannons and Erick had consciously risked the lives of his men to protect the cannons.

In that moment, it started to snow. Little snowflakes slowly fell around him. A storm was approaching from the north-west. He started to go in that direction with a sudden certainty which was only possible in dreams.

He crossed a hollow between two hills which was full of Tartar and Imperial soldiers who had died under his command or fighting against him. This is the harvest of my few campaigns against the Tartars. Most of the dead imperials came from his regiment with his black uniforms and smiling silver death heads on their shakos and he was able to recognize most of them.

It was necessary to cross an entire valley to leave behind the dead from the war against Lithuania. Imperial Hussars and Lithuanian soldiers littered the ground. He saw a young man, clad in Lithuanian heavy cavalry uniform, who bore a resemblance to Steponas. Vladimiras' elder brother lay nearby. Paul, Erick's half-Polish comrade, was lying by a little brook of water surrounded by the members of Vladimiras' escort who had fought against them covering Lithuanian army's retreat from the Plains.

He left the valley behind and started to climb the path which led to a pass over the mountains. Although he had moved with a quickness only possible in a dream the stroll had seemed interminable. Near the mountain it snowed heavily. The slopes were covered by a thick layer of snow and it was difficult to advance, but Erick went on although he didn't know what he would find.

When he saw the slender figure clad in her ice dress on a promontory by the path covered by snow, he was barely surprised. His pride told him that he should turn and come back, but seeing her on the brink of the cliff, he had the sudden fear that she was about to fall. Anyway, this is just a dream and in dreams you can get what you desire most. He thought before calling her.

The figure quickly turned and looked at him in astonishment. Erick realized that she was haggard and exhausted. It's funny. I always dream of her without the scar. He thought, noticing the long red line that bordered Elsa's cheek and jaw which was only partially covered by her long blonde braid which was swept over Elsa's right shoulder.

Both looked at each other speechless for a long time. The snow swirled around her figure while he difficultly approached across the thick mantle of snow.

Elsa's eyes widened when he came close to her. "Your hair! What happened to it?" She asked, looking at the side of Erick's head. His hair was very short in that part showing the great scar on his temple.

"It burned in the Southern isles." Erick just replied in a nonchalant tone of voice which made Elsa wince as if she had received a blow in the chest.

"I'm sorry Erick." She said with trembling voice. "I'm so sorry. I wanted to protect you, but it was useless and I only hurt you before you left Arendelle and..." Elsa couldn't go on and averted her eyes from Erick turning her back on him.

Erick approached and put his hands on her shoulders.

"You died in the Southern Isles!" Elsa shouted as she moved away from Erick. "burned alive." She added in a low tone of voice. "And this is just a dream."

He didn't try to approach her. "I didn't die in the Southern Isles. I fled, and now I am with your army in the Southern passes, bringing the cannons to Arendelle's army."

Elsa's lips twisted in a sad smile. "You would have done that and even more. That's why I rejected you the last time we met. You would have come to Vienna with me, but you would have risked your life. Even being the assistant of the military attaché, your brother would have never forgiven that and you would have paid dearly for it."

In dreams you can get what you desire most. Erick thought when he heard Elsa's words. "Why did you do that? To part from you cost me dearly. You didn't have to protect me. I would have willingly taken whatever risk for you."

"Of course you would have! "Elsa exclaimed. "But I wasn't able to keep you at my side when you would have been risking your life." Elsa couldn't help thinking about her sister who would be forced to remain with the army while her elder sister and her husband risked her lives.

"Elsa you cannot carry the burden of the whole world on your shoulders." Erick warmly replied.

Elsa shook her head. "Anyway, what kind of life would you have had in Vienna? Would you have been happy in the court? Being my cicisbeo would have been sufficient for you? It would have been better if you had returned to your previous life."

"My previous life? As you correctly told me, I'm a petty Imperial Count from Italy. During my entire career, I have been fighting my way through an Imperial military hierarchy crammed with noblemen like my step brother who get their ranks due to influence instead of skill. I'm fed up with that."

"I already sent you a letter saying that you will recover your rank."

Anna sent the letter. Erick thought. But dreams are made to dream the best of the worlds. " It's not necessary. My entire career is an empty thing. I suppose that it has been always empty, but I didn't notice it until I met you."

"I'm sorry. I didn't intend to cause that." Elsa replied lowering her eyes.

Erick shook his head. "Whatever happens you are worth it. I will always bless the day I met you."

Elsa raised her face and met Erick's eyes. She had a sad but tender smile on her lips. "Before meeting you, I only worried about Anna and Arendelle. I had accepted that I would be sacrificed for the good of them and I had a certain peace of spirit."

She slowly raised her arm and her fingertips touched his cheek. "But now, I can't help remembering once and again the moments we were together. I have discovered what means suffering for what I have lost, but I also bless the day I met you."

Erick was going to reply but he had the sensation that he was leaving. I'm awakening or maybe dying in the middle of a battlefield. "In dreams we can be innocent as children." He told Elsa before everything blurred and disappeared.

* * *

"Elsa are you fine?" Anna was bent down, looking at her elder sister who was stretched on a bed in the Queen's tent."

"What I'm doing here? Where am I?" The Queen of Arendelle replied in confusion.

"You have been unconscious for an entire day. You fainted in Antanas arms and I ordered to set up your tent."

Elsa shook her head. "Yes I remember that he wanted to go with the first patrol."

"Yes. I gave him permission and he departed yesterday with them."

"You did what?" Elsa said as she sat up straight on the bed.

"He would have gone anyway and I decided that it was preferable that he went with our dragoons than alone." Anna replied as she held Elsa's shoulders and gently forced her to lean back again.

"Maybe you are right." Elsa finally replied.

Anna couldn't help smiling. Elsa's acceptance of her decision was rather lukewarm. "Do you feel fine? You were very pale when you fainted."

"I'm fine. In fact, I feel better than I have in many days." Elsa said in surprise.

Anna sighed in relief. "Thank goodness! I have been giving you a Troll medicine since you fainted. Kristoff told me that it would feed you. So it wasn't necessary to give you any other food, but I couldn't help worrying myself sick because I was giving you only an infusion."

"About what infusion are you talking about?"

"Bulda gave me some barks which, according to her explanations, would give me strength. I supposed that they could help you. Taking into account that she believed I was pregnant, it was appropriate that you took it."

"And they have worked." Elsa said, raising from the bed." She felt weak but far better than the last days.

"Take it easy." Anna said. "You must rest. It is a trolls medicine. Kristoff said that vigor isn't its only effect. It also produces collateral effects."

"What kind of collateral effects?" Elsa asked looking at her sister.

"Strange dreams. According to Kristoff the Troll shamans took them to have special dreams. They allow them to see the world of spirits, things that are happening in other places or talk with people far away."

Elsa stiffened at Anna's words. "Do they allow to talk with dead people?"

Anna shook her head. "No. That's out of the capabilities of troll's magic. Why do you ask that?"

Elsa explained to Anna her strange dream. The young Princess of Arendelle couldn't restrain her happiness.

"But that means that Erick is alive!"

Elsa shook her head. "It is just a dream which came out of my desires."

"But Elsa maybe..."

"Enough Anna!" Elsa said in a tone of voice so sad that even the Princess of Arendelle stopped her argument.

"Erick is dead! It was hard enough loosing him once." Elsa stated.

Both sisters remained in silence for a long time. Elsa seemed uneasy and Anna looked at her in expectation.

"Has the rest of the cavalry already departed?" Elsa asked suddenly.

Anna shook her head. "No, the sun hasn't raised yet. But they are to depart soon.

"I will go with them." Elsa said as she waved her hand to change her ice dress for clothing better fit to ride. A glow surrounded her, but suddenly she winced and was about to fall.

Anna quickly caught her sister. "Elsa you are still too weak. Please don't move."

"My wound." Elsa muttered while she leaned on her sister. "I have just used my powers too quickly. I felt so well that I forgot the wound. Please, help me to sit on the bed and tell Rolf that I will depart with the dragoons."

"But..."

"Go Anna."

"All right, but I will go with you."

"We have already talked about that..."

"I will return with the cavalry and the cannons" Anna interrupted. "and I will let you go with Kristoff, but I go with you the first leg of the travel."

Anna's eyes gleamed with a fierce resolution and Elsa realized that her younger sister would be adamant on that point. The Queen of Arendelle reluctantly nodded. "All right Anna. You will come with me."

Anna looked in surprise at her sister, but before she could change her mind the Princess left the tent to find Rolf.

Elsa slowly changed her dress for a more appropriate clothing. Although she felt better, the Queen of Arendelle was aware that she was still very weak and the wound hadn't accelerated its healing.

Anna returned, followed by a man with a dish full of soup on a tray. "Sigurd has prepared a dish of soup for you."

Elsa looked at the cook from the castle who had volunteered to go with the army. Behind him the light of the sun started to fade the darkness outside the tent.

"We have no time. The dragoons will depart shortly."

"I have talked with Rolf. They will wait for you. Please eat something. It will take only a few minutes."

"It's your favorite." The man said offering the cold soup to Elsa.

Elsa shook her head. "I will eat something while we ride. There isn't a moment to lose."

Anna put her hand over Elsa's arm. "Elsa, are fifteen minutes so important?"

The Queen looked at her sister. "Anna, I must go to the South as soon as possible. I need to go to the South as soon as possible."

Anna slowly nodded. "I understand you. We will eat something during the march." Se turned her head to face the servant with the tray in his hands. "I'm sorry, but we don't need that soup." Anna said while she left the tent with her sister.

The man waited in the tent until he heard the sound of the hooves departing.

"Damned." The man muttered. "If that meddling Princess hadn't used that strange medicine, the Queen would be already dead."

The man went out of the tent and discreetly poured the poisoned soup on the ground. He had been patiently putting small doses of poison in Elsa's food and the haggard look of the Queen was a sign that he had been about to achieve his objective. A last dose of poison would have killed a weakened Elsa, but now due to the trolls medicine she had managed to recover.

But her recovery is just a facade. She is still weak and I could kill her if I could give her a new dose. The posion provided by the Southern Isles is very effective . The man thought, not knowing that the man who had really provided the poison was Clarence the Northen Baron. The man took a deep breath and purposefully went towards the place where the army had set up the kitchens to spend the night. He hadn't played his last card yet and he knew how to make a last attempt to kill the Queen of Arendelle.

* * *

N.A: Hi Wayward Fawn. Glad to read you. Thank you for your support in the english issue. It is badly needed. ;). I hope that today's chapter have satisfied your request to bring Elsa and Erick together although it had been in a strange way.

I'm sorry if I take long time to write the new chapters. I have started to publish every two weeks instead of every week because I'm reading some books that I will need for my work and that reduces my spare time. I'm sorry but I'm not able to write quicker and keep writing a chapter weekly. :(

Wow, thanks for your long review sarcasticdog. I'm really glad that you like the story. The sons detail is a failure of my English. In spanish when we have a group of mixed masculine and femenine elements we use the masculine. I hace applied this rule here not taking into account the english neutral forms like children. After banging my head on the desk, Iwill correct that. Being a romanic language native speaker provoke details like that. :(

Thanks for your comments about the political plot. I spent a lot of time trying to define coherent reactions for the majors powers of the XIX century to a phenomena like Elsa (and I enjoyed a lot doing it. I like that period of history :).

Regarding the characters I tried to keep the originals characters and just adapt them to a plot which was very different from the original film. Great that you still see the original Elsa and Anna in them. It was one of my main fears that adapting them, they could loss their original personality.

Regarding your questions:

》1. In what timeline exactly do these events take place?

Initially I placed it in 1948, but I have to confess that some historical situations that affects the story would be better placed in 1930.

》I live in Germany and I'm very adapt about history so if you ever need advice about Austria or

something else feel free to ask.

Thanks for your kind offer. I will remember it. :)

》 2. Why do you use the name Imperial for Austria? I don't know if the other nations used this term

but in Germany it was always "the Habsburg". This question relays to the former one since in

some times there was the "Kaiserlich &amp; Königlich" in front of the army names. (in short K.&amp; K.)

In spain the name is "imperio austro hungaro" translated is "Austro-hungarian empire" and I used only the Empire to make it shorter. I don't realize that it could be confusing for other languages speakers until I read your comment. Anyway is an austro-ungarian empire very different from the real one. I expanded it to the Plains (Ukraine) to make it possible a long confrontation with Lithuania ( revival of the polish-Lithuanian commonwealth which controled Ukraine two centuries before) and set a background for Vladimiras - Erick relationship.

》3. Where did you get the designs for Eriks Hussar-uniform. I just ask because I know that there

wasn't a "Totenkopf"-hussar regiment in the Austrian military. It was in Prussia.

Two military units wore the death head on their shakos and black uniform the leib garde hussars (Prussian) and the Brunswick's hussars which were formed by Prussians who kept figthing against Napoleon after the defeat of Prussia at Jena.

Initially Erick was supposed to be Prussian instead of Austro-hungarian and I take the uniform from the leib garde. But Prussia was a very dinamic state in that moment. It was building the basements of the second reich which would unify in 1870 germany and its army was able to contain people so brilliant and so different as Gneisenau, Scharnhorst (Creators of the General Staff concept) and blucher an old style brave and daring hussar who was 74 years old when he commanded the Prussian army at Waterloo. Erick's background was easier to develop in a decadent state like the austro-hungarian empire. ( Wonderful but decadent even Metternich recognized that). So Erick went to the Empire but I kept the Prussian uniform of the leib garde (Black uniform with the death head) It made a very interesting contrast with the flamboyant uniforms of the other Imperials and with Elsa's dress. :)

》With the name Simony could you have found an actual model for Erik? Colonel Josef Simony

Vitèvzvàr of the Homburg Hessen Hussars. (They wore light green, red and white )

Hey! You catch me! I read about him in a Osprey publishing book (he was defined during his life as the most valiant and craziest hussar in the world) and I took his surname for my own hussar. But only his surname.

Your comments haven't been discouraging at all. I accepted long time ago that making errors is the only way to learn.

See you in Arendelle!


	74. Herolf

"He is waking up!" The voice of François said.

Erick slowly opened his eyes and Elsa's face was replaced by Reinhard and François' who looked at him. He looked around in confusion the branches of a fir over them. He was on a bed improvised with a few blankets over the thick layer of needles which surrounded the trunk of the high tree. He could feel the softness of the leaves under his back and at the same time the burning coldness of Elsa's touch on his cheek.

Erick raised his head and saw the encampment of his men on a nearby hill. The sun of the rising sun illuminated the scene with a dim light. "What happened? The last thing I remember is my horse falling."

"Take it easy you received a hard blow. We took you out of the tent because we supposed that it would be easier to wake you up under the light of the sun." Reinhard said. He was kneeling by Erick with a flask of smelling salts in his hand. He wore a bandage in the head which covered his left eye.

"What happened to your eye?" Erick asked.

"I lost it. If you hadn't warned me, that Uhlan's lance would have pierced my head instead of just scratching it." The dragoon nonchalantly replied.

"What are we doing here? How did we escape from the Uhlans?"

"We managed to disentangle from them and escape." Reinhard answered.

"How many men we lost?"

A shadow crossed Reihnard's face. "I only have five men. Some fell fighting against the Uhlans, most of them during the pursuit." The young lieutenant lowered his eyes. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have charged."

Erick shook his head in dismay. _Only five dragoons._ He thought. He was about to talk, but Reinhard interrupted him.

"I heard your order to stop the charge, but I disobeyed it. I wanted to rescue Knut and his men." He raised his head and met Erick's eyes. "Now Knut and his men are dead and almost all my dragoons are also dead. If you want to downgrade me, I will accept to fight as a trooper."

Erick remained in silence for a long while, trying to think something to say. "How did you disentangle your men from the Uhlans and manage to rescue me?" He finally asked.

Reinhard seemed surprised by the question. "I ordered some of my men to pick you up and flee while I contained the Uhlans with the rest. Once you were over the saddle of one of my men and they were at some distance, I gave the order to flee. Some of my men couldn't get rid of the Uhlans and we had to leave them behind. They must be dead or captured."

"The Uhlans didn't pursue you?"

"Most of the mounted ones were still on the other side of the barricade. We had a few minutes to flee before enough of them jumped over it."

"He is not explaining that, according to his men, he killed the Captain of the Uhlans before giving the retreat order. In fact, he chopped his head off with a single stroke. That seems to have dampened their enthusiasm to pursue our men for a moment." François said.

"I have been always good with the sword." Reinhard replied. "But an officer is supposed to be more than just a good sword."

"Yes, an officer is supposed to know what to do in dangerous situations and you managed to save some of your men from one." Erick replied.

"I provoked that situation and killed most of them!"

"I suppose that you will avoid repeating that mistake and will be smart enough to come through future bad situations caused by the new errors that I'm sure you will do in the future. The only way to learn how to wage war is making errors and surviving them." Erick replied as he massaged his temples trying to calm his headache.

"Even if the ones who pay the prize are my men instead of me."

"Since you are an officer your men will usually pay for your errors. Some people consider it a privilege and others an additional responsibility." Erick turned his face towards François putting and end to the issue. "Now let's talk about our current situation. Have you explored the way?"

The Frenchman nodded. "Yes and I have also returned with some company. To reach the western road you must go along a part of the road to Herolf's fjord. I met him and his men. They returned with me and now we have two additional companies of good infantry."

Erick noticed that the encampment had increased its size due to the addition of two hundred men. "Infantry!" He exclaimed. "We have three squadrons chasing us. What the hell am I supposed to do with them. They couldn't keep pace with the cavalry."

"We have some ideas about that. One of the companies is formed by men from Arendelle and its Captain, a smart although surly and reserved guy, has an idea." François explained while he stretched a map on the ground. "I went to explore the western road as you ordered me."

"Knut told me that it is rougher than the main one, but much shorter." Erick said.

"I don't know if it is shorter, but I can assure you that it is rough. It would be difficult to move the cannons in that mountain paths."

"But will it be possible?"

"I haven't gone along the entire road, but I think that it is possible to pass the initial part."

"What would happen if we couldn't move them through the road?" Reinhard, who hadn't been informed previously about François mission, asked.

"If we go by the main road the cavalrymen from the Southern Isles will catch the cannons. We cannot contain them." Erick just replied. "If we go by that way their army couldn't follow us. The carts of the supply train and the field cannons couldn't go through that road."

"And could our cannons make it?" Reinhard asked.

"Our cannons are horse batteries. They are much lighter than the field cannons. Hans' would have to choose between stop chasing us or split his army. Hopefully, he will send only a small part of his cavalry against us and we could contain them in that rough road."

"It's madness!"

"Trying to keep those cannons is madness. But we must save them or Arendelle will be defeated." Erick replied.

Reinhard shrugged. "You were right before about the charge, maybe you are right now."

"You said that the captain from Arendelle has a plan." Erick told François.

"Yes. In the way to the western path, there is a group of hills." François pointed at the map. "A group of infantrymen could resist there for a long time against a greater army blocking the way to the road. The slopes are very steep and he had described them as natural fortresses."

"How many men are needed to defend those hills?" Erick asked.

"Two hundred would be enough." François replied.

"Two infantry companies." Erick said.

"Those men would be condemned. Are you going to sacrifice them? " Reinhard said.

Erick shook his head. "Attacking a steep hill defended by Infantry isn't a task for cavalry. The enemy would have to bring their field artillery or the infantry. So they should leave the main road, shell the hills and return to the main road because it is the only practicable way for the artillery to reach Arendelle. The commander of the Southern Isles' army won't waste so much precious time to attack two infantry companies."

"Even if that means to let the cannons escape." Reinhard replied.

"To take that position would take some time and that would allow our cannons to flee anyway."

"This is just a guess. What will happen if you are wrong?" Reinhad asked.

"Most of these men will die and I will be the cause."

Reinhard remained in silence for a long time after Erick's words as if he was trying to swallow them. "If we do that, two companies of infantry, a considerable part of Arendelle's army will be left behind. Even if they aren't exterminated, they couldn't join the rest of the army."

"They couldn't anyway. We are being pursued by cavalry and your dragoons aren't enough to protect the retreat of the infantry." Erick answered.

"But if Arendelle's army is going to lose a fifth of its forces before the battle. Do you really think we have the slightest chance that we can win? "

"Everybody thought that the fortress wouldn't stand a single day, and if the Northern soldiers hadn't blown up the ammunition depot, we would be in the fortress waiting for the rest of the army and shelling the enemy with cannons which nobody had expected."

"Do you think Queen Elsa has a plan?"

"I think she will have better options to get one if we bring her those cannons."

"What you are trying seems more a wish than reality."

A faint smile fluttered across Erick's lips. "If the only option in the real world is to relinquish those cannons, then I will become a dreamer." He replied as he stretched his hand out to François.

The Frenchman helped him to raise. The young cavalryman seemed about to fade when he moved.

"First of all, you should talk with Herolf, Reihnard's father, he seems to have assumed that he is in command." François said.

"What does the captain of Arendelle's infantry company think?"

"He doesn't seem in good terms with Herolf. I think he would obey your orders as long as they are..." In that moment a sudden clamor from the encampment interrupted the Frenchman.

* * *

"Everybody must be ready to depart in thirty minutes!" Herolf told Heinst.

"Are you sure of what you are going to do?" His younger brother asked.

"I'm not going to play the faithful soldier while those bastards from Westergard kill my family."

"We are ready for something like that. Your wife..."

"My wife won't be left to her fate with a bunch of old soldiers and a few militiamen. Aren't you going to support me in that?"

Heinst frowned. "You are my elder brother and the head of my house."

Herolf nodded and was about to reply when his eyes widened in surprise. "Is he the captain who the bright spark of Nelberg put in charge?"

Heinst turned his head and saw Erick, Reinhard and François who were approaching both brothers. "He has skillfully protected the retreat of the cannons. He is very adept at commanding troops."

"He put my son's life at risk with that stupid maneuver in the bridge and Reihnard lost one eye!"

"According to Reinhard's, your son gave the order to charge ignoring the Captain's orders."

"He shouldn't have placed an inexperienced officer like my son in such a dangerous situation."

"He didn't have many options and there is only a way for inexperienced officers to learn." Heinst muttered before the three men came close enough to hear him.

"Captain Erick Meelgard." Erick saluted, using his mother's surname.

"Baron Herolf Ottesdotter, Colonel of Arendelle's army." Herolf replied. "You have made a good work bringing these cannons here and your arrival is very timely, we will need as many men as possible in the fjord."

"What do you mean sir. We must join Arednelle's main army as soon as possible." A voice said behind Herolf.

The Baron recognized the voice of the Arendelle's Captain who led the infantry company from the fjord, but he didn't even turn ignoring the Captain's words. "We have received news from the fjord, Southern Isles' soldiers have disembarked there."

Reinhard interrupted. "They haven't ships enough no move a great force. They must have disembarked just a token force to distract our attention."

"They have disembarked almost an entire battalion. The message sent by your mother is very clear on that point. She says that they used ships from Weselton." Herolf replied.

"It seems that the Duke wants to settle old scores." The infantry Captain said.

"They will get more than they can handle. I and my men are going to return to the fjord to reject the invaders."

"Two companies against an entire battalion? It would be useless." François stated.

"Not if we have cannons. They haven't disembarked any. With the support of these cannons we could..."

"That's out of the question." Erick interrupted. "I have received orders to bring these cannons to Arendelle's army. They will be needed in the battles to come."

"This is a new situation which invalidates Nelberg's orders."

"I don't see any valid reason to leave Arendelle's main army defenceless in front of enemy artillery." Erick replied.

"I'm a Colonel, Baron of Arendelle, and this is a direct order. Captain." Herolf replied, emphasizing the word 'Captain'.

"I have disobeyed wrong orders from higher origin both in the military rank and peerage." Erick calmly replied.

"You aren't in a position to keep those cannons." The Baron said in a threatening way.

"My men have nails to render them unusable. If you intend to take them you would only get useless pieces of iron in exchange for betraying Arendelle." Erick replied.

The Baron seemed surprised by Erick's responses. The young Captain had kept calm, but his gaze made Herolf uneasy. "I have been told that some people propose to leave the infantry behind to protect the retreat of the cannons. Don't you see that you would sacrifice two hundred men in cold blood and it would serve no purpose?"

"They won't spend time attacking those hills to clear the way for a road that can't be used by their carts nor field artillery."

"You aren't King Hans and that's just a guess. Are you going to risk the live of two hundred men on the basis of a guess."

"The cannons must be preserved whatever the cost." The Infantry Captain suddenly interrupted.

Herolf couldn't help turning his face towards him for the first time in the entire conversation, but he quickly looked at Erick again. "I'm not going to accept to be left behind. I will return with my men to the fjord and you know that a single company isn't enough to hold those hills."

* * *

The sun was setting and, although he was in his tent, Herolf could feel the cold of the night. _I didn't feel it when I was younger, not in the middle of the summer, although it is a strange summer with a cold wind always blowing. _He thought, while sipping a glass of wine.

He was tired. They had followed the road towards the southern fjord until they had reached the hills those mad men wanted to defend. He hadn't wanted to allow Arendelle's soldiers to settle in the hills before he arrived. He feared that once installed they wouldn't have allowed him to pass. So he and his men had forced the march.

Now, his men and Arendelle's had set up their tents in separate groups. The atmosphere in the encampment was strained and Erick had placed a group of guards commanded by François equipped with large nails to guard the cannons with the order to render them unusable if it was necessary.

Heinst and Reinhard entered into the tent. There was little space inside, but they sat on the bed and a stool.

"Father." Reinhard said. "This duel with François is stupid."

"He called me a coward and mocked our family." Herolf replied.

"He asked if you acted out of our family traditions or your own cowardice." Heinst replied. "So he didn't insult our family just you."

"But father..." Reinhard started to say.

"Reinhard, save your breath." Heinst interrupted. "It can't be changed, but Erick was smart enough to forbid the duel until the war is over. "

"You are right brother!". Herolf replied. "Tomorrow we will leave for our home. Let's see how they manage to hold these hills with a single company."

"They are going to leave all the available men behind." Reinhard said.

"What do you mean with al the available men? They only have an infantry company. Knut's men are just a third of a company and they aren't especially adept fighting in formation."

"Everybody including the artillerymen who are not vital to man the cannons will also defend the hills."

"And what is supposed they can do? They haven't been trained as infantrymen. The enemy will slaughter them."

"I suppose that Erick will try to simulate that he has men enough to defend the hills and deter them from attacking." Heinst answered. "It could work if they are able to reject the initial attacks with force."

Herolf snorted. "That Captain is very smart, but war isn't always logic and is full of unexpected events. In my opinion, they are dead, but luckily we won't see what happens. We will depart at dawn towards our home."

"So, you still are determined to desert them." His son replied.

"Reinhard, watch your mouth. You will help Heinst to command the mounted company. Your uncle will teach you some tricks from..."

"I'm sure that King Hans has attacked our fjord to provoke this problem." Reinhard slowly shook his head. "I won't come with you."

"What do you mean?"

"I will stay with my men."

"Don't you want to protect your mother and sisters nor the people from the fjord who rely on us for their safety." Herolf asked looking at his son in utter surprise.

"Father. Queen Elsa took into account that possibility. The cellars of the castle are full of food and it is on the top of a hill. In that position they can resist for a long time until the war is finished."

"The castle isn't a modern fortress. It couldn't stand against cannons."

"Mother said that they didn't have field artillery and the castle isn't near the shore. The cannons of the ships can't be effective against them. Anyway do you believe that we can stand against the Southern Isles alone?"

"Our house existed before we joined Arendelle and it could exist after Arendelle's defeat."

"Would you deal with Hans? He has attacked us!" Reinhard asked in surprise.

"Why not? But I need a fjord clean of enemies to do that. If I fully control the fjord, I could agree with him a union of our Barony to the Southern Isles in exchange of deserting Arendelle."

"Mother is from Arendelle. She will never accept that."

"Your mother will accept the best for her sons. Think about it, you could marry a young noblewoman from the Southern Isles to reinforce our alliance."

"I don't want to marry a Southern Isles' noblewoman if she is the prize for betraying Arendelle."

Herolf took a deep breath before replying. "Reinhard. The southern isles army will wipe out all the soldiers on those hills. Once the way is clear King Hans will send a regiment of his cavalry to chase the cannons through the western road while the rest of the army go to the north following the main road."

The Baron paused for a long time before going on. "Could you and your five men contain a regiment of enemy cavalry?"

Reinhard slowly shook his head. "No. I won't. It would be a nonsense and I'm not going to do that"

Herolf smiled in triumph. "At last you see that my position is the most sensible one. I understand you. It's difficult to leave your men, but you can tell them that you have received a direct order from your father. They will understand..."

"You don't understand father. Erick has ordered the dragoons to join the men who will defend the hills. He also believes that five dragoons couldn't protect the cannons if the hills fall." Reinhard raised to his feet. "I have to go. I will meet with the artillerymen that will join my dragoons to defend the northern side of one of the hills."

After saying that, Reinhard left the tent before Herolf, who was pale as death, could reply.

"He is not going to change his mind." Heinst said.

"My own son betrays our family!" Herolf exclaimed.

"Whatever you think, his mother is from Arendelle and he and his sisters have been raised as men and women from Arendelle."

"Once you told me that he felt some attraction for the Queen. Maybe this is the reason."

"I'm sure that he would have preferred that you tried to marry with Elsa instead of Anna, but he feels that he is from Arendelle, you can't change that and it's better that you accept it."

"You always had felt the same about Arendelle. We have a discussion like this long time ago, when we were young, but you always obeyed me anyway."

"I'm your brother and you carry the burden of being the head of the family. But he will be the next Baron someday and he will rule."

"He won't be the next baron if he is killed in those damned hills." Herolf said as he raised and went out of the tent.

The Baron looked around as if he expected to find his son awaiting out of the tent. Finally he looked towards the west as if he was able to see his home through the high mountains. "What am I supposed to do?" He told Heinst who also had gone out of the tent following his brother. "Return and tell my wife that I deserted my son and that's why he died."

"The letter said that the soldiers are in the castle and that they have closed the gates. Your wife is strong enough to do what is needed to be done."

Herolf lowered his eyes and sighed, for a moment he seemed a man who wore heavy chains. "Are you suggesting with your words that I also have to do what is needed to be done?" He said looking again towards the west mountains where the sun was slowly setting.

* * *

The next morning, Reinhard was in the northern slope of one of the hills. He had met the day before the dozen of artillerymen who had to join his dragoons and he had to find a good place for them.

He was worried. His five dragoons would do well, although they weren't used to fight on foot. But the twelve artillerymen hadn't been trained to fight and they wouldn't be very helpful. He was engrossed in such thoughts when he realized that his uncle Heinst was approaching.

"Reinhard, leave this and fetch your horse." The veteran soldier replied when he got close to his nephew.

"I told you that I will stay here." The young dragon replied.

"You don't understand me. Your father has decided to stay here with our company. I have talked with Erick and the dragoons and the artillerymen must head for the north. The Southern fjord company will control this hill."

"Is my father going to stay?" Reinhard asked in surprise.

"Yes. He will lead our men."

"Then I will stay with him."

Heinst shook his head. "I offered myself, but I have to go with our mounted men to the North and you have to lead your dragoons."

"I'm not going to leave my father alone."

"It's an order from Erick. He had said that everybody with a horse who doesn't directly command infantry soldiers must go to the north. They will be needed there. "

"Why has my father changed his mind? He believes that everybody in these hills will die."

"He decided that returning home would be useless. We can't get the cannons. Erick is stubborn enough to destroy them if we try to seize them. With two companies it is possible to properly defend the hills. So don't worry so much. The Southern isles' army won't spend time with them. It would be a stupid waste of time."

"What if we are wrong? The enemy will crush them."

"Reinhard, we are at war and you have a direct order."

Uncle and nephew looked at each other for a long time in silence. When Reinhard spoke again, his voice was sad. "Am I supposed to leave my father alone here? There must be something I can do for him."

Heinst sighed and put a hand on Reihnard's shoulder. "There is a thing you can do. Come with me to give our farewells to Herolf and embrace your father as I already have embraced my brother."

* * *

N.A:

Hi Wayward,

I doubt that I would have been able to read a story so complex like that when I was 14 years old. I fact, until I read the silmarillion when I was 20 years old, I didn't even liked the stories with too many characters.

See you in Arendelle.


	75. Antanas' Movement

The hill was covered with dead men with the green uniform of Arendelle's infantry. "It has been a hard battle." Hans said while he climbed the steep slope with Count Valsroom at his side.

"When I ordered Guntlaf to attack the hill, he dared to say that attacking the hill with the cuirassiers would be a suicide."

"He was right. The position has been a hard nut to crack" Hans said, looking at the many corpses clad in the white uniform of Eastmark's cuirassiers among the green ones. The charge of the cuirassiers on the steep slopes would have been a complete nonsense only Guntlaf's unexpected plan had avoided a disaster. Instead of charging upwards the slope he had ordered his men to dismount and try a surprise attack in the early hours of the morning.

They had caught by surprise Arendelle's sentinels who, knowing that they only faced cavalry, didn't expect an infantry attack. Arendelle's leaders had rallied their men to do a counter-attack to reject the cuirassiers. But Guntlaf had waited with twenty mounted men who joined the melee at the critical point. Once defeated, Arendelle's soldiers made a final stand around their colors which was finally wiped out. "The cuirassiers paid dearly." Hans just added.

"This is not the question." Valsroom replied. " It was an order and soldiers obey the orders."

"Especially when we also wanted to exterminate the cuirassiers." Hans said with his voice laced with irony.

"With Eastmark in rebellion, keeping a squadron of Eastmark cuirassiers would have been too dangerous. We managed to keep the news from home in secret for a few days, but Guntlaf would have discovered it sooner or later."

Hans nodded. He disliked to waste a fine unit like the Eastmark cuirassiers in an attack so stupid, but he saw the wisdom in the decision. Although he thought that Valsroom had also wanted revenge against Arendelle's soldiers for the death of one of his nephews. He was the Captain of Uhlans who had managed to surprise Arendelle's rearguard when they retreated from a bridge. According to the troopers explanations, he had been killed by a tall and hefty dragoon officer who was highly skilled with his sword.

One Captain of hussars came closer to them and saluted. "Herolf the Baron of the Southern fjord has been captured." He announced.

"Did he fight in this battle?" Hans asked in surprise. He had supposed that all the soldiers from the Southern fjord would be running towards their homes to fight off the force disembarked by Weselton's ships.

"He and a company of his infantry. " The hussar replied.

"He could be a valuable hostage." Valsroom replied.

The Captain shook his head. "He is seriously injured, in fact he is dying."

"Where is he?" Hans asked.

"Guntlaf keeps him. He has encamped with all his men in the other hill."

Valsroom and Hans looked at the nearby hill which was occupied by the Eastmark cuirassiers. "How many casualties?" The Count asked.

"If we take into account dead and injured, they have lost more than half their forces." The hussar replied.

"Good." Valsroom answered with a grim smile on his face. "Now we are going to wipe out that treacherous scum."

"Why?" Hans replied.

"Do you feel pity for them?" Valsroom scornfully replied.

"Of course not! They are useless as a fighting unit, but it will take a lot of casualties to take again that hill against them. We have already lost a squadron of fine cavalry, are we supposed to lose another one?"

"I have sent a messenger to the Capital. Westergard's cuirassiers will replace them".

"Good." Hans replied. "But I don't want to lose more men in petty battles. We have only two squadrons of cavalry. We would have to wait for an infantry regiment or the artillery, unless you intend to waste the hussars or the Uhlans against Guntlaf."

"Guntlaf is very dangerous. We have to get rid of him, if we want to put an end to the rebellion." Valsroom replied.

"After destroying Arendelle's army, we could take care of the rebellion. Leave Guntlaf here with any excuse and let's join the main army. We have spent too much time here and the cannons are out of our reach."

"The more time we spend in these mountains the better for Erling." Valsroom replied.

"He has been already defeated by our armies."

"But not destroyed and he is smart as a fox. If he joined with Guntlaf, we could lose in Eastmark more than we could gain in Arendelle."

"If we don't defeat Arendelle and kill the Queen, we will lose Lord Halkett's support and you and I will have a bleak future. Have you forgotten that we rely on him to keep the control over the Southern Isles? I'm sure that if we lost England's support, the member of my family who would replace us would be very grateful for our efforts in keeping the integrity of the realm. Maybe he would even hang us with silk ropes."

Valsroom took a deep breath. " You are right. Arendelle first." He reluctantly said.

* * *

"Push! If you aren't strong enough, maybe the soldier from the Southern Isles who will rape your wives or girlfriends will be strong enough." François shouted. He spoke Norwegian with a thick French accent, which made difficult to understand his words, but the artillerymen and soldiers who were pushing the cannons understood him just the same and grinding their teeth they made a last effort.

A section of the path was too rough to be crossed by the cannons, but they had located a landslide which could allow to avoid it. It was so steep that they had to use two teams of horses for each cannon in a desperate attempt to pass the obstacle and the horses which were pulling the cannon had their eyes covered and had to be guided. They wouldn't have climbed such a steep slope if they had seen it.

"Do you think they will make it?" Reinhard said, looking at François' men efforts.

"François will make it or die in the attempt. That's enough for me." Erick replied. They were with Reihnard's five remaining dragoons with the rest of the cannons which were waiting its turn.

Heinst and half of his men were covering the rear, the rest of them were helping the artillerymen to clear the way and push the cannons.

The first two horses were about to reach the path on the top of the slope, but suddenly the blanket which covered the eyes of one of them fell and the animal reared. The other horses, frightened by the whinnies, stopped pulling and the cannon started to slide backwards. The men weren't able to control the heavy piece of artillery in the steep slope and started to shout.

François took off his jacket and with a quick jump covered the eyes of the animal and seizing its bit forced with his weight to put his front legs on the ground. The man started to pull the head of the animal forcing him to move forward. For a second it seemed that the cannon would slide down, but finally step by step the horses went along the last meters and the first animals put his hooves in the path.

François then removed his jacket and the blanket that covered the eyes of the first pair of horses. The animals seeing flat ground in front of them and an abyss at their rear started to desperately pull. The first cannon reached the path amid applause and triumphant shouts of the artillerymen and infantrymen who had been pushing it.

"The next team." François shouted, not even stopping to get his breath back. "Let's go!"

The men who were waiting at the base of the landscape started to push the canons and urge the horses.

In that moment a rider coming from the North appeared by the cannon already lifted.

"One of the men we sent to the North. Maybe he has news about the path ahead." Erick said. He had sent Knut's men to the North to reinforce the bridges which wouldn't be able to support the weight of the cannons and locate sections of the path specially rough.

The rider, a man from Knut's company, went down the slope and approached them. "We have met a patrol of dragoons. Arendelle's cavalry is coming in force behind them! We will meet them in two days!" The men shouted. In that very moment a group of riders clad in the green and red uniform of Arendelle's dragoons appeared in the path and all the men cheered them in delight, but the men who had started to push the second cannon who were bluntly ordered by François to keep pushing.

"This is the last rough section of the path. From now on, it is mainly downwards and without any very rough section." Knut's man said.

"You made it! Our army will have the cannons." Reinhard told Erick.

"I haven't pushed the cannons."

"I'm sure that Rolf would agree with me that you are worthy of merit." Reihnard insisted.

Erick shook his head. "I will leave tomorrow when we join the main road. You will be in command of the cannons from then on until they reach the army."

"What dou you mean?" Reinhard asked in surprise.

"I have other duties and this is almost completed. Come with me. I want to talk with the officer of those dragoons."

Before Reinhard could reply, Erick urged his horse to climb the steep. When they reached the upper path, Erick saluted the officer who led the patrol. He saw with relief that the officer didn't recognize him.

The young lieutenant looked in disbelief at the two riders. Reinhard, with his eye covered by a bandage and his torn and blood stained uniform, looked like a Viking from the old sagas instead of an Arendelle's officer. Regarding Erick, only Nelberg's jacket linked him with Arendelle's army, but he didn't look like an officer from any army.

Being already acquainted, Reinhard and the lieutenant started to talk. Erick remained in silence, listening to Reihnard's explanations. Suddenly his eyes widened and gaped in surprise at the men of the patrol.

Among the red and green uniforms of the dragoons, there were two Lithuanian uniforms. For a second, Erick believed that he was again in a dream, seeing the men who had died fighting against him, but then he realized that they were Antanas and Steponas who gaped at the young Imperial hussar who had returned from the dead.

* * *

"Thank you for not saying anything about me." Erick said.

"When you presented yourself as Captain Melgaard, I supposed that you didn't want to be recognized." Antanas replied.

They were sitting in a thick clump of high grass by a little stream at the South of the encampment. After leaving the western path, men and horses were so exhausted by dragging the cannons that they decided, although it was only midday, to encamp and spend the rest of the day there.

Everybody was exultant because the next day they expected to meet with the rest of Aredelle's cavalry. That's why Erick hadn't wanted to wait any more, and after transferring the command to Reinhard, departed towards the South. The young lieutenant had tried to convince him to stay, but he had been adamant.

Antanas hadn't talked directly with Erick since they had met in the mountain path, feigning that he hadn't recognized him. But he had managed to send him a message and they would meet on the way to the South.

So Antanas had left the encampment before Erick to wait for him among the grass. Erick's reasons to leave and why he was going to the South had got him intrigued.

"You were right. I don't want to be recognized as an Imperial officer." Erick replied.

"Is that the reason, why do you want to leave your men?"

Erick nodded. "So far, I have been very lucky. The patrol that met us was composed by men who hadn't been garrisoned in Arendelle during the conference, but if I joined the army, somebody would recognize me."

"Why? You have been fighting for them. You would be well received, regardless of your nationality."

"The Empire wants to take control of Arendelle. A thing like that could be shown as proof that the Empire had helped Arendelle and used as an excuse to enforce Queen Elsa's submission."

Antanas shook his head in disbelief. "Queen Elsa wouldn't be caught in that."

"Anyway I think it is better for her that I remain away from the army."

"Are you sure of that?" Antanas asked. He remembered Elsa's words in the cemetery and he didn't understand why Erick didn't want to join the army.

"Yes. I'm sure." Erick just replied, remembering Elsa's rejection.

Antanas hesitated before going on."Everybody thinks that you are dead. Including Elsa." Antanas had mixed feelings. A part of him didn't want Erick to join with the army and meet Elsa, but he felt that it would had been unbecoming to hide that.

Erick looked at Antanas in surprise. "I gave a letter to Jens Haavik Arendelle's ambassador in the Southern Isles.

"He died trying to save you from the mob. Maybe his companions missed the letter then. What did it say?"

"Once the war is started, it is not important anymore." Erick replied, not wanting to comment his stepbrother's secrets.

"Anyway your return from the dead would be most welcomed." Antanas said.

_I won't repeat Anna's errors just for just a petty Count._ Erick shook his head, remembering Elsa's words. "Please, don't tell anybody that you have met me. Maybe, it is the best." Erick raised and approached to his horse. "I must depart."

"Where are you going?"

"I will try to recover my knife." Erick replied as he mounted his horse.

"What do you mean?"

Erick sighed before replying. "I tried to kill King Hans a week ago and I lose my knife. I will try to recover it and complete the job."

"Are you crazy? You don't stand a chance. They will kill you!"

"That's why you don't have to tell anybody that I'm alive. They wouldn't have to mourn me a second time." Erick replied as he urged his horse in a quick gallop. "Good look Antanas." He shouted while he went away towards the South.

Antanas stood for a long time by the little stream trying to understand Erick's strange behavior. The sun had started to set when Steponas appeared on his horse.

"A courier has arrived at the encampment. Arendelle's cavalry has forced the march and will be here this very night. Queen Elsa and Princess Anna are with them." The bald Lithuanian said.

"Queen Elsa and Princess Anna here! Maybe they could have changed Erick's mind."

Steponas mouth twisted when Antanas said the name. "Where is the Imperial?"

"He has left. I told him that everybody thought that he is dead, but he just told me that I must not explain that he is alive to anybody."

Steponas followed with his eyes Erick's footsteps among the grass. "Maybe he should be dead."

"What do you mean?"

Steponas dismounted and knelt by Antanas. "Think about it. We can follow him. He is officially dead. We could kill him and nobody would discover it. Who would care for a man who is already dead?"

"Are you crazy? I know what happened to your son, but we are at peace with the Empire."

"It isn't so easy to appease a father's heart. I want to avenge my son and you want to get the Queen."

"I don't see the relation between killing Erick and getting Elsa."

"You don't want to see it. Don't you love Queen Elsa?"

"Yes, but she loves him."

"That's my point! She considers herself a widow. Well, young widows use to marry again and she will finally search love out of the cold bed which expects her in Vienna. But if the Imperial is alive you don't have the slightest opportunity."

"I can't hurt her so badly!"

"She is already hurt and her wound is half healed. She wouldn't suffer for the loss of a lover who is already dead."

Antanas couldn't help being affected by Steponas' vehemence. "Erick saved me! It wouldn't be fair to kill him."

"He also caused the death of your father and killed your personal bodyguard who had cared for you since you were a child. He was a good man. Both of them were good men! Don't you want to avenge them?"

Antanas didn't reply and just looked at Steponas who smiled, knowing that he had hit a weak spot. "Maybe you forgot them."

"Stop talking." Antanas just replied.

"Don't you love that woman?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then won't you do what is necessary? Whatever the cost!"

Antanas looked for a long time at Steponas' bright eyes which fiercely gazed at him. Finally Antanas heaved a sigh as if he had come to a hard decision. "You are right, I love that woman." The young Lithuanian raised to his feet. " Let's follow Erick's track."

* * *

Erick had camped soon after leaving Antanas. His horse was also exhausted by the crossing of the western path and he just wanted to put some distance between him and Arendelle's soldiers.

Anyway he wouldn't go further to the South. His plan was to hide and wait for the Southern Isles' army and study its encampment to figure out a way to reach King Hans. But according to Arendelle's explorers the enemy army would take two days to arrive.

Erick was brushing his horse when he noticed that two riders were coming from the North. They had skillfully used the terrain to hide themselves and when Erick discovered them in the dim light of the setting sun, they were too close to saddle his horse.

Erick recognized Steponas and Antanas and saw something in Steponas' eyes that reminded him the dead Lithuanians of his dream.

Both riders slowly approached and stopped a few meters away from Erick. Steponas dismounted and drew his long sword.

Erick slowly also drew his saber and waited in silence. Nobody spoke, it was not necessary. Erick could read Steponas' intentions in his eyes.


	76. Elsa's Plan

Corrado looked in astonishment at the ice arch which rose among the ruins. He dismounted and slowly approached the slender ice construction. He hadn't expected to find something like this in the old watchtower.

When the Italian was close enough. He examined it in detail. The ice simulated the form and texture of the stone and was made with exquisite precision and detail. The arch itself was tall and graceful. Surely its proportions were better than any stone arch which would have existed before in the old stone construction. Looking at it, it was impossible not to feel the presence of the Queen of Arendelle.

_Why she made that arch here?_ Corrado thought, ignorant of Anna and Elsa's stroll with Kurt and Allan at the beginning of the conference.

The old engineer looked around as if he expected to find a clue in the ruins of the old watchtower which once controlled the approach of enemy ships from the South and before had been the seat of the house of Arendelle. But he only noticed the sharp contrast between the beautiful arch and the old stones which surrounded it.

_Maybe it is the reason __why__ I have been summoned here._ He thought as he produced a sheet of paper from his pocket. He read it again.

_I have to meet you in the remains of the old watchtower today at dusk. Talk about this with Kai if you want, but don't talk about it to anybody else and come alone. Once in the watchtower don't forget to look around._

The letter was written in French, but wasn't signed and he wasn't able to recognize the writing. _Maybe Nelberg would have been able to figure out the writer's mother tongue . _

Kai had tried to convince him to go with an escort, but they could have frightened the unknown sender of the letter and Corrado had left the castle alone, reaching the old watchtower when the sun started to approach the line of the horizon in the sea.

The place was empty. Corrado looked around the watchtower, but he wasn't able to see any sign that could guide him. But he only could see the path to the south that climbed a nearby mountain. _This is a bad place to meet. Even if I saw anybody on the path to the South, I couldn't reach it. There is only one path to come here . This tower only function was to watch the sea and ... _Suddenly Corrado had a sudden inspiration. _From this point I can watch the sea._ He passed under the ice arch and went towards the side of the tower which overlooked the sea.

He saw and recognized it immediately. It was a small ship with low railings which was used to move horses from one fjord to the other. It was supposed to be in the Northern fjords and should have transported horses to Arendelle.

Now it was in a small rocky shore unloading a group of seven horses with their riders.

Corrado was utterly surprised. The ship was supposed to be in the North. It would have passed in front of Arendelle during the evening when all the ships had already returned to the port to disembark its riders South of Arendelle.

_What the hell are they doing there?_ Corrado asked inwardly. Then he noticed that one of the riders, the first whose horse had disembarked, was climbing at full gallop a narrow path that connected the rocky shore with the path to the South.

They will block Arendelle! No messenger will manage to reach Queen Elsa and the army. Suddenly Corrado imagined the rest of the ships from the Northern fjords waiting to enter in Arendelle when those soldiers had blocked the path. They would come the next day to Arendelle's port as allies, confident that no message about their arrival would reach the Queen of Arendelle.

Suddenly Corrado understood why the Northern Barons hadn't joined the main army of Arendelle and the strange news of an explosion provoked by some Northern soldiers in the fortress that should have contained the Southern isles army. He limped as fast as he could towards his horse.

* * *

Kurt, who was hidden in a nearby group of beeches, saw the old engineer mounting his horse and going through the path towards Arendelle.

_He has seen the ship and the soldiers._ The young Prussian thought. He had sent the unsigned letter to Corrado the day before. When he had discovered that the Northern Barons were about to take control of Arendelle, there was no time to send a letter to Anna and Elsa, and besides, his letters to Anna were supposed to be just personal letters and he would have given himself away, if he had tried to explain the urgency of the letter to Kai.

So he had summoned Corrado to the old watchtower from which was possible to see the Northern Barons initial movement. So tomorrow when they reach Arendelle and feign good intention, Kai and Corrado will be aware. Hopefully that will be enough.

Otto, Kurt's elder brother, had explained the day before what was going to happen. Kurt couldn't help being ashamed of betraying his brother's trust. He knew that Otto wouldn't have cared by the fate of Arendelle or both sisters and he couldn't even imagine, much less understand , what Kurt was doing.

Otto had been pretty callous when he talked about Lord Halkett's maneuver and his puppet Northern Barons who would hold Elsa while Hans killed her. Otto's cynicism had always upset Kurt and Otto despised what he qualified as Kurt's too delicate ideas, but both brothers had been very close from their childhood and Kurt had never even thought in doing something like that. They were too opposite in character to be friends, but they had been more than that and Kurt couldn't help the strange feeling that he was betraying himself.

_I suppose that being a traitor to your own family isn't an easy thing. _The young Prussian thought while he mounted his horse. It was time to return to Arendelle. He wasn't sure if he would be able to reach the village at night, so he had to hurry up. But before returning, he couldn t help glancing back at the ice arch which raised among the old stones shinning under the sun's last beams.

* * *

"Have you changed your mind?" Anna asked Elsa.

"You asked the same question many times since we left the army and you always received the same answer." Her elder sister replied.

"It's too dangerous." Anna replied.

Elsa couldn't help smiling. Anna talking about being cautious was really funny. "They tried to kill me in my own bedroom. We are in danger whatever we do."

"And the consequences? Elsa what you are going to do is craziness."

"It's sheer desperation. " The Queen abruptly replied. "The Southern Isles' army is five times bigger than ours. We don't have the slightest chance."

"But the cannons..."

"They have three field batteries. Am I supposed to let my soldiers die and my people suffer?"

"But the cost." Anna just muttered. "What will be the reaction of the great powers? All our troubles started because the great powers fear your powers and you didn't even attack them. What do you think they will do if you do something like this? What will they do against you?"

"I will have to take the risk."

Anna was about to reply, but a knock at the door interrupted her.

"Come in." Elsa called obviously happy to put an end to the conversation.

Reinhard, Harald and Heinst entered. They were in a small hunter's hut in the little valley which connected the western path to the main road. After leaving the rough mountain path, Reinhard's men had encamped near the little building. Arendelle's cavalry had arrived a few hours after and a surprised Reinhard had accommodated both sisters inside the empty construction.

Seeing Reinhard's bandage over his eye, Anna gulped. She couldn't help remembering both of them dancing a few weeks before on the day of her coronation.

"The place is completely inappropriate, but it is..." Reinhard started to say, but Elsa interrupted him.

"Thank you for your concern for our comfort, but we won't stay here for a long time." Elsa replied with a warm smile on her face. "You did a wonderful work bringing the cannons."

"It is not my merit. I wasn't in command during the retreat although I assume full responsibility for the lost of ten of my dragoons."

"Who was in co..." Anna started to say, but Elsa interrupted her.

"What is the state of the cannons? When we arrived you told me that the battery was fully operational. Were you including the six cannons?

Reinhard nodded. "The complete battery and almost all its men are resting in the encampment after crossing the western path."

"The message you send us said that Nelberg is dead. Is it true?" Elsa asked.

"Yes. He died trying to avoid the explosion which destroyed the Southern fortress. He was very brave."

Elsa nodded. "Tell me about our casualties."

"Knut is dead and his company is badly mauled. A lot of his men died in the explosion of the fortress or during the retreat. Heinst company has suffered some casualties, but its force is intact."

Elsa turned her face towards Heinst. "Were are the rest of the forces from your fjord? And where is Herolf."

"The two infantry companies from our fjord are in the South, blocking the way of the enemy army in order to gain time for the cannons." Heinst replied.

Elsa remained in silence for a moment. "We can't help them." She finally said. "The cannons and all the available soldiers must join the main army."

"My brother knew that when he volunteered." Heinst just replied.

"Queen Elsa." Reinhard said. "May I propose that you and your sister return with a cavalry escort to the main army? Although the enemy army isn't close, maybe we should repel its scouts and we can't risk your lives."

"It's a good idea." Elsa replied. "Prepare a escort for my sister." Elsa replied provoking a killing glance in Anna's eyes.

"And you?" Reinhard asked confused.

"I won't return to the main army with you. I will stay behind with Kristoff."

"Are you cra..." Heinst interrupted. "I mean what are you talking about? The enemy would capture you!"

"Kristoff and I will hide in the nearby mountains. He knows them like the back of his hand. The Southern Isles' Scouts will never find us."

The three officers looked at Kristoff, who was sitting in one chair at a corner of the room. "Why do you want to do that? Will you try to reach Eastmark to negotiate an alliance with Count Erling." Heinst asked.

Elsa shook her head and her voice faltered. "I will use my powers against the Southern Isles army. I will create a snow storm which will hit them."

"Are you going to risk your life only to delay them?" Heinst asked.

"I assure you that the storm which I have in mind won't just delay them." Elsa replied and her tone of voice made the veteran soldier fall silent and Anna shiver.

"Why you have to hide in the mountains. Couldn't you create the storm from our army? You won't be so close to the enemy army, but you would be under protection." Harald asked.

Elsa shook her head. "I can't create a storm away from me. I will be the center of it. If I was with our army our men would suffer the worst. I must be as far as possible from them and from Arendelle."

Anna couldn't help looking at Kristoff. He would be with her sister. If he was worried by the prospect of being in the center of such a storm, his calm face didn't show it.

The three officers looked at their Queen in silence until Heinst turned his head again towards Kristoff who had remained in the chair. "Do you think it is possible? The enemy scouts will search this zone."

"But they will search only near the road and the mountains that surround this valley are a maze of little paths and caves which will offer us protection." Kristoff replied.

Heinst didn't seem pleased by Kristoff's answer. "Are you sure of that mountain man? You are talking about the safety of our Queen!"

"I'm sure soldier." Kristoff replied.

"This point isn't under discussion." Elsa finally said with her most imperative tone of voice. "Tomorrow you will depart and Kristoff and I will remain in the nearby mountains. Reinhard you will remain in command. Harald will cover the retreat with the cavalry."

Harald nodded at elsa's words and talked to Reinhard "Where is the officer who was in command of the retreat. I have been told that he wasn't any of you and Nelberg appointed him. Did he get killed during the retreat?"

"No. He left us this very afternoon."

"Where did he go?" Anna asked before Elsa could speak. Since Elsa had explained her dream to her younger sister, the Princess was convinced that Erick was alive and with the soldiers from the South fortress. And she wouldn't allow her sister to interrupt her again.

"Towards the South. He said that he had another mission to do."

"We must send a patrol to find him." Anna said.

"We can't spare a single man Anna." Elsa said.

"But maybe he is Erick. " Anna said.

"Nelberg knew him. He should be an old acquaintance."

Reinhard shook his head. "His name was Erick Meelgard but Nelberg didn't know him when he joined us in the South fortress."

"Then why he was put in command of Arendelle's soldiers." Elsa asked.

"He wore a letter signed by Princess Anna which appointed him with the range of Captain."

Both sisters turned pale, recognizing the letter Anna wrote for Erick under Elsa's instructions. "We must find him!" Anna exclaimed.

"I told you that we can spare a single man." Elsa muttered.

"Don't be silly! I will go on my own if necessary."

"Anna, it doesn't concern you and maybe it's the best." Elsa replied.

The three officers gaped in astonishment at both sisters. Anna seethed with anger and even Elsa, usually calm and self-controlled, seemed affected by the discussion.

Reinhard was about to talk when he heard the door open behind him. He had ordered to Heinst's men who were protecting the house not to let anybody in, so he supposed that something important had happened. He quickly turned to see who had entered.

"Princess Anna!" The young dragoon said.

Both sisters had been so engrossed in their discussion that they hadn't even realized that somebody had entered.

"It is not necessary to search for anybody , the Captain is here." Reinhard said, looking in surprise at Erick who stood in the door looking in astonishment at both sisters.

* * *

"Going to the South! If you want to return to Lithuania we must just return to Arendelle and take a ship." Steponas said.

"I will never return to Arendelle." Antanas replied.

"The Southern Isles army is coming from the South. If they caught us, it wouldn't be a pleasant experience."

"We aren't Arendelle soldiers."

"Scouts usually pay no attention to details like that during a war."

"We will go through the western path. The Southern Isles army is marching through the main one."

The old soldier grumped but remained in silence.

They were on the top of a hill near Arendelle's encampment. Antanas saw Erick entering the small nearby hut. "We can leave. I'm sure that he will meet her."

"Why did you tell him that a group of Southern Isles scouts had gone Northwards and were about to attack the encampment."

"Because lying him was the only way to force him to return."

The old soldier shook his head. "You should have allowed me to kill him. I could have killed him or if I had been defeated I would have injured him and you could have killed the Imperial."

"Yes. I'm sure of that." Antanas replied, raising from among the tall grass and walking towards his horse.

"Then why you ordered me to sheathe my sword. I supposed that you loved that woman."

Antanas stopped with his hand on the saddle and remembered when he had ordered Steponas to sheate his sword and not attack Erick. He had decided previously that he would deceive the hussar to return, but the young Lithuanian had needed all his willpower to give the order anyway. He had been sure that he was doing the best thing and he suspected that the doubt would haunt him during his entire live.

"I love her. That's why I didn't allow you to kill him." Antanas just replied as he mounted on his horse. "Let's move. I want to be out of Scandinavia as soon as possible.

* * *

Hi Wayward, I see that Antanas reactions interested you, I hope you liked the end of the story.

Hi Archduke, thanks for the long review. I comment it in a long reply below (your words in underline)

_First things first, I would suggest reading through this chapter again and look for spelling errors. Also, since you had Anna tell Elsa about what happened at the visit in dialogue, it is unnecessary to tell us that before hand._

You are right about the redundant text. I wanted to link the previous explanation of Arendelle's affairs with a conversation between Anna and Elsa about Elsa lack of contact with people. I recognize that a phrase of 25 words at the beginning of Anna and Elsa's converstaion is redundant and I do it on purpose.

_"About my weeding." One could bring many a gardening joke about that spelling error in but I will spare you just this once._

Ja, ja... you are right. English isn't my mother tonge and sometimes I make errors like that (Lauren had to deal with so many errors from my side that it is absolutely understandable that she missed it). Thank you by the comment any correction about my english will be always welcome (even if it is wrapped in references to gardening jokes). I will correct it.

_Also, I know that plenty of countries would be trying to get one of the members of their royal family married to Elsa given that it might increase their standings in the world, but I think that they would address the issue with just a little more tact than "If you marry one of our enemies you might go to war with us so marry our person now or else."_

Well the situation isn't exactly the one you are descriving. Read the text carefully. "the British Secretary of State and the French ambassador in London are just too happy to play their parts, they both signed the petition" England and France in coalition will choose an apropiate husband to keep the balance of powers and they are very gentle between them. In fact England and France don't even try to present a English or French candidate. They will give support to their allies. This is the European concept of balance of powers in the XIX century. The major powers in a meeting agreeing the distribution of forces in europe. It started in the Vienna council in 1815 and believe me they weren't subtle nor gently with the minor powers.

Now I realize that maybe you are talking about the explanations that Elsa gives about the letter from the diplomats. Of course the letter wouldn't be so obvious. Anna even needs Elsa to explain in simple Words what are they saying. Elsa is translating from formal diplomatic speech to plain words. I will modify the text to say it explicitly.

_she is the monarch of her country, such action could be seen as aggressive diplomatically and I don't think anyone wants to pick a fight with a queen who can literally control ice. Brittan might be a cold place but a thousand year winter over a proposed marriage would not be a very popular idea among the masses._

At the beginning of the story they fear (England and France) what another power could do using Elsa and they meet to ensure that nobody uses her against the other. In history, there are a lot of crowned heads which haven't been gently treated. See the Duke of Enghien entry in the wikipedia to see an example or the attack on Copenhagen which I describe as an example in the chapter. Regarding her powers, in the film she freezes Arendelle which is a small country nor a great country like England. It is not the same. They act according to the facts they know.

_"Anyway they are very interested now. I don't know why..." oh I don't know, maybe it's you charm, you naval superiority in the region, you ability to control ICE. The possibilities are endless. *sarcasm goggles on_

As I commented in one point of the first chapter, both sister had centered their attention in the regional affairs, supposing that the great powers will ignore them. "I convinced you to center our efforts in the neighboring kingdoms..." They are rather blind to the scene out of Scandinavia after long years of isolation. I think that in a situation like that you have to get real information not just react moved by deductions. In fact, in the third chapter, which I suppose you will never read, more complex economic and strategic reasons are explained.

Anyway Elsa's lack of knowledge about the reasons of England and France is a very minor detail. In the next five chapters I explain the motivations of different countries and candidates to Elsa's hand. When we meet Anna and Elsa again they already know it. So it is not a main point in the story.

_Also, I must state again, Elsa is the ruler of her country. Tact would be their best ally in this matter so that they don't piss her off. I think it would work better if this conflict was shown through suitors actually talking to Elsa and trying to get on her good side, that way we can see this develop in a believable way._

Being the ruler of a little country doesn't give you any security. One of the candidate (Vladimiras) choose your approach with Elsa, but everybody (including Vladimiras) have in mind that the ones who decide will be England and France (and at a minor degree the Empire). We are not talking about love but about politics. Elsa explicity comments in the chapter that if she rejected their decisions who will suffer would be Arendelle's people. "we don't have any other options. If we can't trade we will lack food and other commodities. This winter children may suffer or die." Keep that in mind when talking about believable or unbeliable and what Elsa would accept.

_They can't just force her into it. Yes Brittan would probably try to blockade or even attack Arendelle, but it wouldn't really work since Elsa could just freeze all the water, deny the crews of the ships supplies until they surrendered, commandeer the fleet, then thaw the ice and take her new fleet to England and see how they like a thousand year winter._

You are talking of a blokade as trafalgar, but I'm talking of a blokade like the Continental blokade of Napoleon against England. They will attack Arendelle's ships in other ports and intercept them in the middle of the sea, ruining their commercial network without approaching a single ship to Arendelle. So they wouldn't receive food on exchange of timber (Elsa explicity details in the chapter that they don't have food enough in Arendelle an depend on trade) and people would starve. I will modify the chapter, trying to explain it more clearly.

_That aside, I do like the idea of this story, but I think that it could use some polishing next time,~The Archduke_

Thank you for your comments. They have been quite useful to make the text more understandable, although I think that you should read it again because you have lost a lot of details. I hope you read more chapters and go on with your reviews.


	77. Give up

"Erick." Anna muttered as she could barely refrained herself from jumping forward and embrace the figure which stood in the front of the door.

"Princess Anna." Erick coldly said looking at the young Princess.

Reinhard noticed the sudden tension in the room and Harald's surprised face who gaped at Erick.

"Captain Melgaard?" Elsa just said, keeping her formal attitude although her voice cracked.

Erick nodded at Elsa, but didn't said anything.

Elsa was about to go on but Anna's interrupted her. "I'm so glad to see you! I want to hear your report." The young Princess had suspected since Elsa's dream that her sister reason to go to the South wasn't only the attack to the Southern Isles' army with her powers. Anna thought that Elsa secretly wanted to check if her dream was true and Erick was alive. But she also was sure that once she had find him, Elsa would try to push him away.

"I think that Reinhard can..." Erick started to say already thinking how to go away.

"I'm sure of that! " Anna interrupted again. "Reinhard, we would need a complete report about the ammunitions rescued with the cannons."

"We leave the carts behind with all the ammunition." Reinhard replied. "They wouldn't have passed through the western path."

"Well, then I want a complete report of the state of the cannons and the men's equipment. I want to know what we must provide to them to replace their lost equipment." Anna turned to face Heinst and Harald. " Would you help him to made the report?"

"I'm sorry Princess Anna." Erick interrupted. "But my presence here is a mistake and I should depart as soon as possible." His voice was formal and cold as ice.

"Please Captain Melgaard. I'm sure that my sister is also very interested in what you have to say." Anna said in a pleading tone of voice. " Aren't you?" Anna asked turning her attention to Elsa. "Don't you want to know what happened to him since the last time we meet him?"

The Queen of Arendelle didn't replied and Anna decided that she had to move quickly before her sister gathered resolution enough to dismiss him. "Gentlemen." She said looking at Reinhard, Heinst and Harald. "I would like to hear Captain Melgaard's explanations in private. Could you prepare the report I asked before?"

The three officers seemed to hesitate and looked at the Queen, but Elsa remained in a strange silence.

"Please." Anna said raising her eyebrows. She wanted to take advantage of her sister's inactivity.

Harald nodded and strode towards the door. When he passed by Erick, the dragoon spoke to Erick. "Good to see you Captain."

Erick nodded and followed with his eyes Reinhard and Heinst who also went out.

When the three officers had left the room and closed the door, Elsa staggered to a table in the middle of the room and leaned on it. The Queen had been about to faint when she had seen Erick and only sheer willpower avoided her collapse.

"Princess Anna..." Erick started to say.

But Anna, who had approached to her sister, seized a wooden jar from the table and raised it over her head. "If you call me Princess Anna again in that tone of voice, I will hit you with that!" Anna shouted. She was fed up with Erick's attitude.

Erick didn't replied, but his eyes remained cold.

"Why didn't you told me" Elsa hesitated. "us. That you were alive."

Erick hadn't informed them that he was alive, because he knew that Elsa wouldn't have allowed him to stay in her army. "I didn't wanted to disturb you." He said, hiding his real motivations.

"What do you mean with that?" Elsa asked looking in disbelief at Erick.

"Don't you remember? You told me that you don't want to hear from me anymore." The young hussar replied.

Elsa took a deep breath before going on. "Arendelle is grateful for your feats saving the cannons, but I can't allow you to stay in Arendelle's army." She finally said in a tone of voice as cold as Erick's.

"Maybe I'm just an Imperial Count, but you don't have any authority over me."

"You are in Arendelle territory and you will obey the rules of Arendelle's Crown."

"I was leaving Arendelle's territory when I was misinformed to return here. If you give me your permission I will leave towards the South and I wouldn't disturb you anymore."

"To the South! Are you going to face alone the entire Southern Isles' army?"

"That's my business!"

"I am not..."

"Stop!" Anna shouted interposing herself between Elsa and Erick. "Have you gone stone crazy?"

"I'm not going to change my point." Erick coldly said.

"I can't change mine. If you just could understand." Elsa replied.

"Maybe it is too complex for a humble Imperial Count." Erick replied.

"Enough!" Anna shouted again looking at her sister. "Maybe I'm not intelligent enough to see all the possible dangers that lie ahead." Anna turned to face Erick. "And I'm not so proud to block whatever possibility to work things out, but..." Anna was interrupted by Kristoff who, after raising from the chair, gently put his hand on the Princess shoulder.

"I think that we must left them alone." The mountain man said.

Anna seemed about to protest in anger, but her fury seemed to evaporate when her eye's meet Kristoff's. "Maybe you are right." The Princess replied as she strode towards the door followed by him.

"Erick, you must return to Arendelle immediately." Elsa said when she and Erick were finally alone.

"I'm not going to do that."

"You are an Imperial soldier. This is not your war."

"Being dead, the Empire doesn't care too much for me and I can decide which are my wars."

"I have soldiers enough to wage this war. I don't need one more."

"I'm not so stupid to believe that I will tip the scales."

"So why are you here?"

"For you. Maybe I'm not good enough for you, but what I feel for you is good enough to make that and even more."

Elsa remembered Erick's offering to left the Imperial army and go with her to Vienna. She felt that she won't be able to resist that offering again. "Enough Erick. I told you what I thought about that. My rank doesn't allows me to be with a minor Count. I liked your " The Queen of Arendelle hesitate before going on." company, but you are going too far."

Erick just nodded. He didn't reply, but Elsa could tell that her had hit so deep as when she had rejected him in her parent's hunting pavilion. She turned her head, feigning indifference, although actually she didn't felt strong enough to look at him.

"Erick, I repeat what I told you. If you really love me, we will never meet again. It would the best for me." Elsa said. Tears slid down her checks and she noticed a lump in her throat while spoking.

Erick didn't reply, but she heard the sound of his boots walking towards the door. A sudden surge of sadness overwhelmed Elsa with the certainty that she would be dead in a few days. _That horrible words would be the last thing he will remember of me. _"This is not a dream and we cannot be innocent as children." She inadvertently muttered.

Erick stooped with the hand on the knob of the partially opened door. Maybe he noticed the sadness in Elsa's voice, maybe he recognized the last phrase he had said in the dream he had a few days before, but the young imperial realized in that moment that Elsa was haggard and exhausted as she had been in his dream. _She wasn't in that state the last time we meet in Arendelle. _

He hesitated, remembering Elsa at the edge of the cliff alone and proud. and slowly turned to look at the young Queen. The Queen of Arendelle didn't even look at him, as if she didn't care.

_She would die before giving up or allowing me to risk my live_. Erick thought and suddenly Elsa's rejection seemed an irrelevant thing. He slowly closed the door, remaining inside the room. When the door closed Elsa's shoulder's trembled and he heard a sob.

"Did you wrote the letter saying that I will recover my rank?" He suddenly asked.

Elsa had supposed that Erick had left the room and the question caught her by surprise. "Yes" She replied out of the sudden surge of happiness she felt, realizing that Erick was still in the room, but she quickly recovered from her slip. "I mean ..." The Queen of Arendelle hesitated, trying to find a good explanation. "It was appropriate after your services to Arendelle."

"Then why did Anna sign it?" Erick said retiring his hand from the doorknob.

"You wouldn't have accepted my help." The Queen replied. She instinctively hugged her own elbows as if she tried to protect herself from the questions.

"So It was just a compensation for a faithful servant." Erick replied.

"No. It was ..." Elsa tried to say not liking the sly smile which twisted Erick's lips.

"I saw you in a dream some days ago." The young Imperial said, not allowing the Queen to finish her reply.

Elsa's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes it was a dream in which you and I were in the edge of a cliff. You told me that you loved me and the real reason because you rejected me was that you didn't want to ruin my life allowing me to go with you to Vienna."

"Erick, you know that you din't have the necessary rank to even be considered as a candidate to my hand."

"You are right, you are right." Erick replied approaching to the table on which the Queen was leaning. "And a dream isn't real."

Elsa wanted to reply, but she couldn't help looking at Erick's eyes while he approached. Erick's voice was laced with irony but there was a tenderness in his eyes that make impossible for the young Queen to think in an appropriate reply. "Will you leave Arendelle?" Elsa just replied when Erick put his hand on the table.

"Yes. To follow you to Vienna."

Elsa sighed in relief. "Then you will return with Anna to the main army."

"I said that I will follow you, I not will go before you. Once we solve this war I will follow you to Vienna."

"I will be your stepbrother's wife in Vienna. After the war the decisions of the conference will be executed." Elsa said unable to avert her eyes from Erick's who had reached the table and slowly approached.

"And I will be your faithful stepbrother-in-law. I could even become a monk."

"Erick, be serious. You are just following a dream."

"I'm fed up with reality. I will try with the dream. In fact my entire stay in Arendelle seems to me like a dream."

"Vienna isn't Arendelle."

"I know that better than you." Erick replied with a sad tone of voice."But wherever you will be Arendelle will be part of you and I will stay as near as I can of that bit of Arendelle."

Elsa sighed. "Don't you realize that it is beautiful, but useless?" Elsa hesitated before going on because, in a certain way, she was agreeing with Erick regarding her real reasons to reject him. "Being in Vienna with me is too dangerous!" Elsa said in a imploring tone of voice.

Erick shrugged. "I have been risking my life for years. Anybody who believes that his life is safe is just deceiving himself. Life is dangerous and it isn't within our power to change that."

Erick raised his hand and touched Elsa's check, caressing the long scar that followed the jawline. Elsa just closed her eyes, not trying to avoid the slight brush of his hand.

"But sometimes we can make our live beautiful and make it worth the risk."

Elsa slowly opened her eyes and looked at Erick a tear slid down her check. "You are not going to change your mind. Aren't you?"

Erick shook his head and slowly slipped his other hand through the long slit in Elsa's skirt.

Elsa took a deep breath, feeling his hand between her thighs, caressing her skin, but she didn't move and just whispered. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think? I have been dreaming of you since the day I left Arendelle."

"Anna is outside."

"That lovely red dragon will be pleased to wait." Erick replied before kissing Elsa's lips.

"Reinhard and the others could return." Elsa replied, but she didn't move and breathed heavy.

"They won't pass the red dragon." Erick nonchalantly replied.

Elsa softly moaned when Erick's hand deliberately moved forward along her thigh and didn't say anything when he gently started to slide down her dress with one hand. She took her arm out of the sleeve and brushed his head with one hand, feeling his hair through her fingers.

Erick removed the other sleeve, leaving her dress pooled around her hips and kissed Elsa's nipples while his hand went up along her side gently brushing her skin until he reached the lower side of her left breast. He moved very slowly to make it longer.

Erick's moved up and down his hand between her legs and Elsa started to breath following his rhythm. She dropped her hands along his back and introduced them inside the rear of his trousers grasping his buttocks, trying to take his pants off.

In that moved Erick stopped moving his hand suddenly and Elsa gave a gasp of surprise.

"You must promise me that there won't be more tricks to get rid of me. We will be together in this to the bitter end if there isn't another option." Erick said before she could reply, looking Elsa straight in the eye.

"Do you believe I couldn't refuse." Elsa panted with a mischievous smile on her lips as she slipped one of her hands inside Erick's trousers until he reached his crotch.

Erick took a deep breath before replying. "You are strong enough to do anything, but hopefully you will give such a minor kindness to a faithful servant."

Elsa laughed and nodded. "I promise. No more rejections nor doubts. We are together in this to the end." She started to unfasten Erick's trousers. "As diplomat you use tricks that make you a nut harder to crack than Lord Halkett."

Erick laughed as he started to caress Elsa again. "Harder is an appropriate word to use in this moment."

* * *

Reinhard was in front of the hut looking in astonishment at the sky. "If the Queen is going to launch a storm against the Southern's Isles army, what's the sense of that?"

Anna looked at the clear star-studded sky over their heads. Since the failed attempt on Elsa's life the weather had been cold and windy, but suddenly the clouds had disappeared and they were enjoying a beautiful warm summer night. Anna could feel that the bodice which had protected her against the cold winds during the day was too thick.

"I suppose that she is gathering the storm energies." _Hopefully what I am saying doesn't sound too stupid_. She thought as she went on with her improvised explanation. "She is taking a little run to hit better the enemy."

Behind Anna, Kristoff and Sven could hardly refrain from bursting out laughing at Anna's words.


	78. Storm

The hussar crossed the thick group of firs. He had seen a broken branch and his keen eyes were fixed in the ground looking for a mark. He found it near the base of a trunk.

_The roots of the tree protected it from being removed._ The man thought. He didn't need to dismount to recognize the mark of the hoof he had been following from a nearby valley.

_You are good, but sloppy._ The trooper thought as he raised his hand to warn the rest of the patrol. The seven hussars who were scattered around looking for any signal quickly approached.

"Have you found anything?" The sergeant who led the patrol asked. He was a tall man with a moustache the color of ripe corn and clad, as the rest of his men, in the uniform of the Westergard hussars.

The trooper just nodded towards the mark of the hoof by the tree.

The sergeant studied the mark for a while. "Are you sure that they are not luring us into a trap. The track is too skillfully removed to leave that untouched. Maybe a group of Arendelle's dragoons wants to catch us."

The trooper shook his head. "I doubt it. I think they are in a hurry and didn't have time to completely hide their track."

The sergeant looked at the short and sturdy trooper who had a hooked nose and a thick crop of black curly hair. He was one of his best trackers and he had learned to trust in his judgement. "Our task is to discover what happens in the flank of our army." He finally said. "We will discover why they are in a hurry."

* * *

Kristoff watched the tiny figures of the hussars on the bottom of the valley from the slope of one of the mountains which surrounded it. He had been playing cat and mouse with patrols like that the last two days. He hadn't expected to find so many scouts around the enemy army and he had taken infinite pains to avoid them.

Finally urged by Elsa's requests to reach as soon as possible a mountain top which overlooked the enemy army before they got closer to Arendelle's army, Kristoff had risked too much. Elsa had reached the desired position, but they had moved too quickly. Kristoff hadn't been able to hide all the signals of their pass and the enemy explorers were on their track.

_They will discover Elsa, if they go on in that direction._ Kristoff thought, looking at the top of a nearby mountain.

Sven uttered a long moo.

"I know. I know. Elsa said that we must seek refuge in the cave we prepared before and wait there for her. But those hussars will find her."

The reindeer snorted.

"Yes I know that we are short of time. She is about to start whatever she will do."

* * *

From the top of the mountain, Elsa also saw the patrol moving in the valley._ I have hurried Kristoff too much, they have discovered us. _She was on a rocky promontory from which she could see the mountains which flanked the main road. _Every minute counts now. _Elsa raised her hands, but nothing happened.

_The Southern Isles army is behind those mountains and I know what I must do. Every minute they get closer to Arendelle and our army and using my powers will be more dangerous._ Elsa thought , but her power didn't flow.

_Maybe the cannons, Anna and Erick haven't reached the army yet and they are too close._ But Elsa knew that it was just a mere excuse.

Elsa hugged herself and looked towards the north._ I have never done something like that and I don't know how much power I must use not to affect my army. _She said inwardly._ My hesitations are only normal._ But she knew that she was deceiving herself again.

"I don't what to use my powers against people." She finally muttered, lowering her eyes. Elsa had used her ice powers against the Duke of Weselton's thugs in her Palace, but then she had been fighting for her life. Now she was going to attack an entire army in cold blood. People would die and she didn't feel able to use her powers.

"I'm stupid. The young soldiers of my army will fight to the death in a few days and I'm not able to use my powers." She said in loud voice, looking in dismay at the Souther Isles' hussars on the valley.

"Let alone the garrison of the South fortress. They had killed and some died in my name. Herolf, Heinst, Knut, Reinhard" Elsa remained in silence for a long time with her arms hanging by her side. "and Erick." She finally whispered as if she was telling a secret.

Elsa remembered when she had explained to the young Imperial that she was pregnant. He had put his hand on her belly with a strange look in his eyes.

"I have been responsible for the death of a lot of people, including a good deal of Southern Isles' soldiers. It will be something new being responsible of the birth of two of them." He had said.

They were lying in the bed in the little hut by Arendelle's encampment after spending the night together. The first light of the day was already filtering through the closed windows and Elsa had decided that she didn't want to depart with Kristoff without telling her lover of her state.

"They will be your stepbrother's children." Elsa said. The idea had been hunting her during the entire night, and when she had felt Erick's hand on her belly, the words involuntarily came out from her lips.

Erick nonchalantly nodded, as if somebody had explained him some uninteresting detail about a distant country. "I will be the best uncle in the world. From Adrian's point of view, I will spoil them." Erick raised from the bed. "Let's move. Kristoff and Harald are already waiting for you outside. I will help you with these clothes."

Elsa raised in silence and accepted Erick's help to put on the clothes of a humble hunter. She and Kristoff would simulate to be a hunter and his wife trying to escape from the invading army. They didn't talk, but they looked at each other's eyes.

Once Elsa was clad in the fur clothing, she kissed Erick and with a last smile strode towards the door. Erick wouldn't see Elsa off in public. It would have been too risky, instead he would sneak through one of the windows in the rear of the building.

"Whatever you do." Erick suddenly said. "Remember that you are not risking only your life." Erick said these words with a strange look in his eyes. Elsa couldn't help smiling sadly. "Are you sure that you aren't a diplomat instead of a soldier. You even have tried to dissuade me."

"There's no point in trying to convince you. I only regret not going with you."

"Me too, but you don't have Kristoff's knowledge of these mountains. Stay with Anna. She would need you if" Elsa hesitated before going on " anything happens."

Erick nodded. "See you with the army."

Elsa nodded and went out of the room. She was grateful that Erick hadn't tried to convince her not to depart. _Anna wasn't so nice. _The young Queen thought when she saw her younger sister, Kristoff, who was clad in a fur clothing similar to the one she wore, and Harald waiting in a nearby field.

* * *

"This is not a good idea." Kristoff said dropping a branch of fir over the little fire. The dry leaves instantly burned, lighting up the deep cave.

Sven, who was in a corner of the cave by Elsa's horse, loudly grunted.

"She will be alone against those hussars." Kristoff replied.

The reindeer snorted as a reply to Kristoff's words.

"I know that she can take care of herself ". Kristoff replied. "But I'm not sure that Anna will agree with this. In fact, I'm sure that he wouldn't have accepted to leave her alone."

Kristoff remembered his last conversation with Anna. The Princess of Arendelle had told him not only to take care of her elder sister, but also to watch her. "I don't trust her. Elsa could try to do something too risky or even worse."

"What do you mean with..." Kristoff started to say, but in that moment Harald and his men joined them and he stopped talking. They were in a field near the hunter's hut, waiting for Elsa.

Kristoff noticed that the dragoons brought Elsa's horse. A calm and tame mare which was easy to handle even for Elsa's riding skills. Its usually luxurious saddle had been replaced by a simple and rough one. There was also a horse without a saddle. A bay with two great saddlebags. "What is this?"

"The Queen's food. Yersterday's evening a courier from the army brought it." Harald replied.

"The Queen's what?" Kristoff exclaimed, looking in surprise the great bags.

"Sigurd the royal cook sent them. He has prepared food for the Queen. It will help her to recover." Anna said.

"I don't want it. We need to move quickly and this is an unnecessary load."

"That's why we put them in another horse." Anna replied.

Kristoff shook his head. "At the beginning of our travel, we will depend on our disguise as humble hunters. The Southern Isles' scouts won't buy that a mountain man possesses three mounts."

"In your bags you only have dry meat and salt cod. Don't you realize that she is a Queen?" Harald asked.

"If the Southern Isles' soldiers catch her, they won't care about her crown."

"Please Kristoff!" Anna said, looking at him with imploring eyes. "She is so weak."

Kristoff shook his head obviously uneasy. "Anna this could be dangerous."

"Her current state is also dangerous."Anna replied.

Kristoff hesitated. He looked and Harald. The young dragoon was obviously displeased by the sight of a princess of Arendelle imploring to a mountain man, but he didn't say anything.

Kristoff finally sighed. "Ok, I give up. I will...".

"What are you giving up Kristoff?" Elsa, who had gotten closer to the group , asked.

Anna explained to Elsa the origin of the contents on the saddlebags. Elsa looked at the heavy bags.

"Do we need this food?" Elsa finally asked Kristoff.

"No." The mountain man laconically replied.

"Your mountains, your rules." Elsa replied, clinching the argument.

Harald nodded, and with a wave, indicated one of his troopers to retire the bags.

"What am I to do with this?" The dragoon asked Harald.

"Make use of it as you will." Elsa said. "Anna, Kristoff, I want to talk with both of you." Elsa went a few paces away followed by her sister and brother in law. "Anna if I don't return the reason of the great powers to intervene in Arendelle would disappear."

"What are you going to do?" Anna replied, stiffening.

Noticing Anna's reaction, Elsa smiled. "I will try to return, but if this doesn't happen and I'm not able to strike the enemy with my powers, you would have to retreat with the army to Arendelle and negotiate with the diplomats there."

"With that bunch of bastards!"

"Maybe they are bastards, but they have the future of our people in their hands."

Anna didn't reply, but anger gleamed in her eyes.

"You must contact with Mullon, the French delegate. He will be very interested to avoid the hegemony of the Southern Isles in the South of Norway under the aegis of the English."

Anna took a deep breath as if she was hardly controlling herself.

"You can try to find a way with him to stabilize the situation. Maybe you will manage to avoid a confrontation with the Southern Isles. Hans will accept Halkett's orders if the diplomats reach a new agreement after my..." Elsa stopped talking.

"Elsa I don't..." Ana started to say before being interrupted by her elder sister.

"In that case your marriage with Kristoff could be an advantage since he doesn't link Arendelle to any external power."

"This situation isn't possible because I won't return without you." Kristoff stated.

"Nobody knows what could happen." Elsa replied as she produced a little notebook from one of her pockets. "These are my notes about the possible situations you could find if I didn't return." Elsa handled the notes to Anna. "In that case diplomacy is the best option. Don't try to stop Hans using the army and trust Kay's advice."

Anna took the notebook with a puzzled look. All the things she was about to say to her sister had evaporated at the sight of the little object. "But you will return. Won't you?" She only replied. Her last question was just a low whisper.

A brave smile appeared on Elsa's lips. "Of course I will little sister. I want to see my future nephews and nieces." Elsa embraced her. For a long while, both sisters held each other tightly, but when Elsa got away to allow Anna and Kristoff to be alone, the puzzled look hadn't disappeared from Anna's eyes.

* * *

Elsa took a deep breath. A cold gust of wind swirled around her. At her feet, in the bottom of the valley, the hussars still approached and behind the mountains she could imagine the Southern Isles' army marching. But she couldn't get Anna's puzzled eyes, nor Erick's look when he had asked her to take care of her unborn children out of her mind. Elsa raised her hands and her power started to flow. It wasn't easier than before, but her doubts didn't block her anymore.

* * *

Kristoff didn't feel the cold entering through the mouth of the cave. It wasn't that type of cold. It went through the entire mountain across layers of rock and hit Kristoff, taking his breath away. He could hear the sound of the trees cracking and exploding by the sudden freezing of the sap and the screams of terror of the horses in the valley below.

He threw more logs and branches to the fire. The flames leaped touching the ceiling, but it didn't warm the cave up. Kristoff noticed that Elsa's horse was shivering due to the cold and approached it to the fire. Even Sven, who was covered by thick fur and was used to cold and snow, also approached to the flames.

Kristoff was throwing more logs to the fire when he realized that the screams from the valley had stopped and the silence seemed to Kristoff far more terrible than the previous shrieks and cries.


	79. Guntlaf

"I will show you to the Baron." Guntlaf said, raising from the chair inside his small tent.

"Thank you." The cavalryman, who wore the yellow and blue uniform of westergard's hussars replied, following the cuirassier. He couldn't help looking in disdain the long old-fashioned braids which shown below Guntlaf's helmet.

"The squadron seems to be in an unexpected good condition." The hussar said

"My men try to put a brave face, but most of them are wounded." Guntlaf replied, silently cursing the unexpected visit of the hussar. He, as the leader of the Eastmark cuirassiers, had carefully lied about the casualties after the battle with the soldiers of Arendelle which had allowed to take the two hills that guarded the access to the western path.

When Guntlaf had received the order to charge up the slope, he suspected that something weird was happening. A experienced commander like Valsroom wouldn't have waste a valuable unit like the cuirassiers without a good reason.

The assault had worked very well and the cuirassiers suffered fewer casualties than expected, although they had paid a heavy toll to take the hills. Guntlaf with the connivance of the doctor of the regiment, who was also from Eastmark, magnified his losses and simulated that the regiment was broken.

But now, the unexpected visit of the hussar, who was an aide-de-camp of the King, asking to see Herolf? the Baron of Arendelle's Southernmost Valley, put at risk that lie. Guntlaf asked inwardly if he had to order three of his men to ambush the hussar during his return and kill him.

"When can I go with my men to the South? We are useless here and some of them need better medical attention."

"I don't know. Count Valsroom didn't tell me anything about this point. But I think that they count on you to guard the prisoners."

Guntlaf nodded. He was sure that neither Valsroom nor Hans wanted them to go to the South. After the assault, he had noticed strange movements in the forces of the Southern Isles' army that confirmed his suspicions.

His scouts informed that one regiment of infantry and some cavalry had installed its encampment in a nearby valley. Officially, they would be used as reinforcements for the army, but its position was perfect to block the way of the cuirassiers towards the main road which connected Arendelle with the Southern Isles.

_Has Erling risen up against them?_ The cuirassier thought. The sly and clever Count of Eastmark was willing to revolt, but he didn't have the resources to do it. _Has he obtained the money and started a revolt?_ _That would explain Valsroom maneuvers. In that case my men are necessary in the South._

The veteran cuirassier realized that the hussar looked at him as if he expected and answer. "Excuse me, I didn't hear you."

"I asked about the Baron. King Hans is interested in his current state."

"He is dying. According to our doctor a common man would have died the same day of the battle, but he is strong and stubborn."

"The King wants to use him as a way to obtain the surrender of his fjord. The regiment which disembarked there encountered an unexpected resistance. Under the command of the Baroness the garrison took refuge in the old castle and she refuses to surrender the fortress.

Guntlaf couldn't help smiling. "Why don't they shell the castle? It is an old castle and it would be quickly destroyed by the cannons."

"It's out of reach from the ships and the Admiral from Weselton doesn't want to disembark the cannons without permission from the Count."

Guntlaf nodded and laughed. "And the Count of Weselton, that old weasel, will delay his reply until the war is over. One thing is to transport soldiers and a very different one is to use their cannons against a castle."

The hussar seemed uncomfortable, but Guntlaf was already engrossed in his own thoughts. _Those ships would be a way to transport my men to the South._ But he knew that he couldn't take the risk. Although he was sure that Eastmark was in revolt, he couldn't risk the lives of his soldiers just because he had guessed it.

Two volunteers had left to the South disguised as civilians. They would try to reach the Southern Isles' territory and discover what was happening. They had sworn to feign to be deserters even if that meant to be hanged.

Guntlaf and the hussar reached the improvised field hospital. The seriously injured soldiers were on covered carts, the rest in tents. The cuirassier entered in one of the carts, which had a guard in front of it, followed by the hussar.

The cart stank with the smell of infection. Herolf was lying on a pallet which wasn't big enough for him. He was deathly pale and breathed with difficulty.

A man, clad in the uniform of Captain of Arendelle's infantry, was at his side, leaning toward him. The Baron weakly said something and his body suddenly relaxed. The captain closed his eyes using his left hand. The hussar noticed at that moment that the right arm of the officer ended in a stump with a recent bandage on it.

"He has stopped suffering at last." Guntlaf said, removing his steel helmet from his head.

The Captain nodded. "He had been delirious the entire night."

"What did he say when we entered?" The hussar asked.

The Captain shrugged. "I think he was muttering the name of his wife."

"I will allow some of your men to wear arms during his burial. So you will pay your last respect." Guntlaf said as he turned to go out.

"Maybe we could bring him to his fjord. His wife would like to take care of him, once she surrenders the castle." The hussar said.

Guntlaf turned his head and looked at the hussar. He was about to reply, but the Captain was quicker.

"He is a Baron of Arendelle not a trophy to be shown."

"He should have carefully considered his actions. If he hadn't faced us, he wouldn't be dead and his wife wouldn't be in a difficult patch."

"Perhaps you should carefully consider your words." The Captain replied, raising and confronting the hussar.

The hussar disdainfully looked the stump at the end of the man's right hand. "What are you supposed to do?"

"I only need my left hand to deal with you. Soldiers who wear his uniforms in such good condition haven't usually been hardened by training nor combat."

Guntlaf couldn't help smiling. The hussar wore a fine uniform of the best quality and its state reflected that the campaign hadn't been too hard for its wearer.

The hussar put his hand on the pommel of his sword and was about to reply, but the Cuirassier interrupted him. "Let the Captain some time to train with his left hand and follow me." He said the last words in a commanding tone of voice and immediately left the cart.

Once outside Guntlaf put on his helmet and waited a few seconds until the hussar, seething with anger, went out of the cart.

"I want satisfaction for what he has said to me. I'm the nephew of Count Valsroom and he won't allow something like that from a low born prisoner."

"Do you think that dueling with a crippled would..." Guntlaf started to say, but he stopped talking when he noticed that one of his patrols had returned and two men clad in strange uniforms were among his cuirassiers.

One of them was a short and bulky man, in his early fifties, bald and with a great scar running across his face from the chin to the left eyebrow. The other was a young man, but it was difficult to determine his age since his face was too young for the size of his body.

"Why wear these men arms? All prisoners must be deprived of their weapons." The hussar said, looking at both men who wore their swords at their side.

"Because we aren't prisoners. We have willingly met your soldiers." The young man replied.

"They wouldn't have even seen us otherwise." The bald man calmly added.

"We found them in a nearby mountain. I think they came from the North, through the western path." The sergeant who commanded the patrol said.

"Tell me. Isn't that an Eastmark's battle flag? I saw it from the mountains." The young men asked, looking towards the squadron's banner flying in the middle of the encampment. The Eastmark's hawk was clearly visible on it.

Guntlaf was about to reply when a sudden thunder interrupted him. Everybody in the encampment looked towards the North. A great winter storm swirled over the mountains. They saw the winds, sweeping snow along, advancing like a wall.

"Antanas! What the hell is happening?" The bald man asked.

"She is using her powers! I feared that she would do that." The young man replied, looking in astonishment towards the storm.

* * *

"He didn't seem very pleased." Lord Howard Halkett said.

Allan Halkett looked in the same direction than his uncle trying to find out whom he was talking about. They were in the bridge of his frigate. Allan had gone to the ship to check its condition after the last storm. It had been snowing for three days and Arendelle was covered with a thick white layer.

"Are you talking about the backstabber? I suppose that sharing the scarce free space of a warship like this with the brother you betrayed isn't pleasant." He finally said, looking at the gaunt figure of Stephan, brother of Konrad former King of the Souther Isles until he was imprisoned and replaced by Hans.

"I'm talking about him, but I don't believe his elder brother is the reason for his mood. Look at him! What is he doing?"

Allan looked in surprise at the Southern Isles' diplomat. He was leaning on the rail looking towards the mountains to the South as if he tried to see something in the dim light of the dusk.

"He seems to just enjoy the landscape. I suppose that it is a way not to see his brother."

"He is looking at the storm." Halkett replied.

Allan realized that Stephan's eyes were looking fixedly towards the great storm clouds behind the mountains.

The unnatural storm had suddenly appeared three days ago behind the mountains and had quickly spread. Arendelle had suffered under the snow, but it was easy to see that it was far worse behind the mountains.

Allan's eyes widened. "The Southern Isles' army!"

"Correct." Halkett said with satisfaction. "A storm like that on summer must come from the Snow Witch and the position of the clouds said that it is directed against the Southern Isles' army.

"She dares to use her powers against people."

"It's a proof of her desperation. Mullon is also aware of the implication."

"Do you think she can defeat the Southern Isles' army."

"I don't know, but it our duty to be ready for it."

"What do you mean?"

"We must make sure that the Snow Witch is neutralized."

"If she defeated the Kingdom of the Southern Isles, how would you manage to do it?" Alan replied raising his eyebrows.

Lord Halkett waved his hand towards Arendelle." They will do the dirty work."

Allan saw the soldiers from the Northern fjords in the port and guarding the access to the castle. When the Northern Barons had arrived to Arendelle, they expected to catch Kai and the garrison by surprise and take control of the castle.

Instead they have found the castle gates closed and the garrison and all the prominent people and their families inside. Kai had even sent couriers to warn Queen Elsa, but the Northern patrols which had disembarked previously to control the access to Arendelle had managed to catch them all. Anyway the snow had blocked all the paths towards the south and it was impossible to send a mail to Queen Elsa or receiving any news from the army.

"Are you talking about Clarence and Ebbe? If Elsa won, they wouldn't dare to do anything."

"They will, if they are supported by the people. Bishop Bodo was smart enough to hide when the Northern Barons arrived. So he isn't in the castle, but in the village and the people is very worried by the storm. They fear a return of the great cold of the last summer."

"And what is supposed to do Bodo."

"When troubles arise, people seek answers and Bodo will give them some. He is celebrating a mass right now. His idea is to pray for the end of the storm, but I'm sure that he will inspire other solutions to the mob."

"They will guess that Queen Elsa is using her powers against their enemy."

"They are afraid, their leaders are inside the castle and Bodo is using all her influence to turn them against the source of the storm."

"And will they give support to the northern Barons to overthrow Queen Elsa?"

"I think of something more definitive."

Allan's eyes widened when he understood his uncle's words. "Killing a Queen. A King or a Queen is a sacred figure. All the countries in Europe agree on that."

"Taking into account that they are monarchies, it's perfectly normal." Halkett replied. "But she has used her powers to destroy an entire army. Even Mullon will turn a blind eye on her death."

"Are you going to handle this? I don't believe that Clarence nor Ebbe are able to make it, but it would be very dangerous for you to handle it personally."

"I have another candidate to handle this issue." Lord Halkett replied looking at Stephan, who was still leaning on the rail, looking towards the South.

"That's why you didn't allow him to return to Westergard."

"He doesn't want to return. He knows that he is far more useful here, defending his brother's interests, besides which , if his brother is defeated, he knows that he will be safer here."

* * *

Hans woke up and immediately noticed the change in the atmosphere. He also saw the joy on the face of the aide who had come to inform him.

"Has the Storm disappeared?" Hans asked.

The servant nodded. "The sky is cloudless."

"Good. I want my uniform." Hans nonchalantly replied, although inwardly he felt a profound relief. The storm had been over them for five days and the army wouldn't have survived much more time.

When they had departed from Westergard, Hans had taken into account the possibility of an attack from Elsa's powers and had ordered to include winter equipment in the supply train, but he hadn't expected anything like that.

Howling winds and freezing temperatures had badly mauled the army reducing its ranks. Infantry had suffered greatly and they had lost a terrible amount of valuable horses. Let alone that they had been forced to leave behind a lot of carts with supplies which they would badly need in the future.

"Count Valsroom wants to talk with you." The servant said as he produced a uniform from one of the chests.

"I supposed that. I will meet him after breakfast."

"He is waiting for you outside."

Hans disguised his satisfaction at the man's words. "Let him in once I get dressed." He just said.

When Valsroom entered into the tent. Hans was seated at a little table waiting for his breakfast.

"Sit with me and share my breakfast." Hans said in a cheerful tone of voice.

"I already ate." Valsroom laconically replied. "You were right. The storm stopped once we got close enough to the enemy army."

"I was sure of that. When the Queen's powers unleashed a year ago. The Queen main concern was to get away from Arendelle. Her powers are stronger if you are near her. I supposed that she wouldn't risk to damage Arendelle's army if we were too close."

"We have paid dearly. Half the infantry is lost."

"We distributed winter equipment to the best units. We are weaker in numbers, but not in quality." Hans replied.

"Anyway we have lost a lot of horses. Some of our hussars will mount horses from the carts." Valsroom regretted.

"But the Westergard cuirassiers are in their way to join us. A complete squadron that will replace the Eastmark cuirassiers ."

"We don't know where they are. No messenger from the South have managed to pass through the storm."

"I'm sure that Baron Bakken is coming. He wouldn't lose the opportunity of a fight like that." Hans said, referring to the bald, tall and hefty commander of the Westergard cuirassers. He was a close friend of Valsroom and one of the few men trusted by the Count.

"Bakken is as good as Guntlaf and his squadron would be decisive, but we cannot count on them."

"We still outnumber Arendelle's cavalry. And the artillery is undamaged."

"The infantry paid for that." Valsroom replied.

"If we had retreated as you said, we would have suffered the snow and cold until our final annihilation. Nothing would have refrained the Queen of Arendelle from attacking us."

"Maybe she wouldn't have gone on to avoid the great powers' wrath."

Hans shrugged. He suspected that the Queen of Arendelle would have allowed the army to retreat without attacking them, but he hadn't wanted to allow that decision to Valsroom. "Once she had dared to attack a great army, there is no way back. The great powers will be certain that she is dangerous. Anyway, have you forgotten that our presence at the head of the Southern Isles depends on the final outcome of the campaign? The English delegate wouldn't be kind with us, if we gave up so easily."

"I suppose you are right, but I wouldn't use the word easily for what our army has suffered."

"But they have gone through it and you deserve a good share of the merit." It wasn't a feigned praise. Valsroom efficiency and control over the men had been critical in keeping the army united.

For a second, Valsroom looked at Hans as if he was about to slap him in the face. "I will send our scouts to locate as soon as possible Arendelle's army. Now it will be safe for them to leave the protection of the army."

"Send also the other patrols that must control the passes from the South. They must try to catch the Queen of Arendelle.

"Are you sure that the Snow Witch is behind us?"

"Of course I'm. The best position to be near us as far as possible of her own army is behind us. Didn't you see the direction of the winds? They always came from the South."

"You were right before. I suppose that you are right now. I will send them in little groups to cover more terrain, although they will be vulnerable against Arendelle's patrols."

"We must take the risk. We will lose some of them, but If they follow my instructions six or eight men will be enough to deal with the Snow Queen. Have you given the orders to the hussars?"

Valsroom shook his head. "I wanted to discuss that with you before. We are entering in a zone with several villages. If our men acted in the way you told me, the people who live here would hate us and that could cause us trouble. Guerrilla would be a nightmare for our supply lines."

"The Queen of Arendelle is very dangerous, I saw her fighting against two trained men and she put both of them on the ropes. Our soldiers must act before she can react. She will try to sneak through our patrols, hiding her identity. This will give our men an opportunity to approach her, but they have to attack by surprise."

"Would you tell the men of the patrols that they have to kill all the blonde women that match with the description of the Queen of Arendelle without previously confirming who is she?" The Count's voice was defiant.

"Of course I will." Hans replied. "If they tried to confirm that she is the Queen of Arendelle, they would be dead in the blink of an eye. Anyway, after what we have suffered the last days, I'm sure that they will be willing to do that in order to avoid another attack from the Snow Queen against us."


	80. Ambush

The small valley stretched at its far end, there a Southern Isles' infantry regiment was encamped. Although it had stopped snowing, the soldiers gathered around the campfires. The entire landscape was covered with a thick layer of snow, but Guntlaf's keen eyes were able to study the defences build by the soldiers. "We will never cross through them." The veteran cuirassier said lowering his telescope.

"I told you that it was impossible to pass." Another cuirassier said. He was one of the scouts who had reported that the nearby valley to the South which connected the Eastmark cuirassiers' encampment with the main road was blocked by Southern Isles' infantry.

"I knew you were right." Guntlaf replied. "But I have to take a grave decision and I had to check with my own eyes that we don't have any other option.

"They seem to be waiting for an enemy." One of Guntlaf's aides commented.

"We are the enemy they are waiting for." Guntlaf stated. "We are stuck in this secondary path that connects Herolf's fjord with the main road and that regiment blocks our way towards the Southern Isles and Eastmark."

"We could attack them. A surprise attack worked well for Arendelle's infantry." The scout proposed.

"They aren't two companies, but an entire regiment. We would loss too much people and we need to bring the squadron intact to Eastmark."

"Maybe we could go towards Herolf's fjord and try to seize a ship from Weselton." One of Guntlaf's aides said.

"And how will we embark our horses in the ships? Do you believe that the infantry regiment besieging the castle will be kind enough to help us?" Guntlaf replied.

"They are busy and scattered around the castle. Maybe we could take them by surprise." The scout added.

Guntlaf shook his head and remained in silence for a long while as he tried to find a solution.

"Sir you are at risk here. If their scouts saw us, we couldn't protect you." The aide said.

Guntlaf smiled and looked at the uniform of the cuirassier which was completely white. "The snow will hide us. Don't worry about that. Anyway we have to return to our squadron. I know what are we going to do."

"Will we storm that position." The scout asked obviously worried.

Guntlaf shook his head. "Sometimes the shortest way home is to make a detour."

* * *

She had been a handsome, tall, blond young woman, almost a girl, but now she laid on the snow by a freshly dug tomb. A man was lying at her side and another dead woman was near them.

"The Southern Isles' cavalrymen entered yesterday in our village." The village representative explained. "They seemed to come in peace and said that only needed to take some food and drink from our cellars, but suddenly they attacked like snakes, killed these poor women and fled before we could react.

Kristoff looked at the women and the man. They were in rough coffins ready to be buried. All the inhabitants of the small village, no more than twenty persons, had gathered around the three new tombs and just started the ceremony when Kristoff and Elsa appeared among the trees that surrounded their homes.

The man wasn't mutilated, but the heads of the women had been cut off. _Those soldiers had to work quickly to avoid being killed by the locals, but they do that to these women._ Kristoff thought. Both were blonde, young and with a constitution similar to Elsa.

Kristoff's eyes meet with the Queen's. _She shouldn't see that suffering. She __has_ _suffered enough seeing the results of her attack against the Southern isles army._

Elsa had planned to stop her attack, if the enemy army retreated towards the South. But they had doggedly kept their way North and Elsa had? to keep her powers flowing until they were too close to the inhabited regions of Arendelle and its army.

Elsa had paused her attack in brief intervals to follow the enemy. Every time they had to approach to the main road, they had found the remains of dead soldiers and beasts scattered all along it. The blizzard had caught them in the open and they lied in grotesque postures in the place they had finally fallen, too exhausted to keep going.

"First we were attacked by the powers of our Queen. During five days we have been suffering a terrible weather which has ruined our harvest. " The representative said, looking at the landscape covered by a thick layer of snow which made difficult to believe that they were in the middle of summer.

"and now the soldiers attack us. We have been abandoned by our Queen!" The man exclaimed with indignation which was echoed by a murmur among the rest of the people.

Kristoff damned inwardly, Elsa was enough distressed by what she had seen in the marching path of the enemy army. She didn't needed to be also blamed for the suffering of her own people. _Luckily we still __wear_ _our hunter disguises._

"Why did they kill the man?" Elsa asked suddenly.

The man looked at Elsa in surprise and Kristoff's fist clenched. Elsa's accent was easy to recognize as a high born person and sounded strange even for her own people. She was so affected by the sight that she had forgotten that she was supposed to remain silent unless she was asked, and in that case, say only short responses.

"He tried to defend his girlfriend and the soldiers killed him." The man replied looking fixedly at Elsa's blond hair.

"We have to leave. It's midday and we have a long way to go before dusk." Kristoff said.

"Yes. We can't help them anyway." Elsa replied, nodding and following Kristoff. The mountain man could feel the eyes of the man following them until they disappeared among the trees.

Once they were out of sight, Kristoff dismounted and examined the ground. He could see the track of a group of horses. They followed the path in the same direction that Kristoff and Elsa should take to meet the army.

"We must leave this path. It's too dangerous. In fact, we must leave even the secondary paths." Kristoff said.

"Is there any other option which won't be controlled by the Southern Isles' patrols?" Elsa asked in an absent tone of voice, staring into space.

"There are hunter's paths which they won't know."

"That means to travel slowly and I need to be with the army as soon as possible. They need me." Elsa replied, covering her hair with the hood of her jacket.

"You won't be able to help anybody, if you get killed."

Elsa sighed. "Don't you think that they should fear me more than I should fear them."

Elsa's words had sounded like a confession of guilt instead of an affirmation. Kristoff didn't find anything to say. He just started to go along the path.

Elsa didn't say a single word in the following three hours. Kristoff supposed that she was engrossed in the consequences that her actions would have over her? subjects. He didn't even try to cheer her up, Anna or Erick would be better at that. He centered his attention in the route to follow instead.

If the hunter's paths were excluded, there was no point in trying to use secondary paths. The hussars would control them also. He decided to follow the path that departed from the attacked town. It was the quickest way to reach the army and the sooner Elsa reached the protection of her army the better.

Kristoff didn't like that because there were a lot of places where they would be caught by surprise, if the hussars laid an ambush, but he supposed that the Westergard's riders wouldn't return through the same path and wouldn't be for a long time in the same place. They would have better options to find preys in new places.

For the rest of the day they climbed a steep slope that would allow them to pass to the valley to the North. The path was rough and narrow and the sun was approaching to the peaks of the mountains when they started to see the end of the slope through the trees over them. Sven uttered a long moo.

Kristoff nodded. "We will rest here. I will find a place to hide until dusk." He had also noticed that the Queen of Arendelle was exhausted and needed a rest, but he wanted to reach the top of the slope . "At the end of this path, there is a great plateau without trees which stretches for two or three kilometers. We will pass this open field under the moonlight and spend the night at the other side. It would have been dangerous to cross it during the day. From there..."

Kristoff stopped talking suddenly. The path made a bend to go around a great rock, and when they turned it, they found that a great tree had fallen under the weight of the snow blocking the way. Kristoff looked in surprise the heavy trunk. One side of the path was blocked by the great rock and the other by a thick group of blackberries. "We must make a detour through the forest to..."

But in that moment a man who was hiding among the branches of a great fir which towered them jumped over Elsa. The utterly surprised Queen of Arendelle didn't even realize what was happening. The man hit Elsa's head with a cudgel, pulling her out of the saddle. She fell under the man and her head banged on a great root which stood out the rough terrain.

"What the hell are you doing!" Kristoff shouted as he urged Sven to turn and charge on Elsa's attacker. But three men who had been hiding behind the great rock interposed in his path. They were clad in the yellow and blue uniform of the Westergard hussars and armed with sabers, but Sven lowered his head and used his antlers to make a path through them. The men stepped back in surprise, but another hussar who had been in the top of the rock by the path jumped over Kristoff.

The mountain man and the soldier rolled on the rough terrain. Kristoff managed to kick the man on the chest with his boot and get rid of him. The mountain man put his hand on his knife and tried to get up, but two sabers pointing to his chest stopped him.

"Stay on your knees!" One of the men who had faced Sven's antlers said. Kristoff saw how the third man was cornering the reindeer against the rock with quick swings of his saber.

The man who had knocked down Elsa had got up and was helping to raise the man who had jumped over Kristoff . "I told you that we would catch somebody here. This path is a main one and a lot of people spend the night in that field on the top instead of the middle of the forest." Elsa's attacker said.

The man who had received Kristoff's boots on his chest, a corporal with a thick moustache and long sideburns, who seemed to be the leader of the patrol nodded. "Check if she matches with the description. We must leave this place quickly. Arendelle's patrols are near and I want to return before one of them catches us by surprise."

"What do you want? We are going to the north to hunt martens. We haven't done anything bad." Kristoff exclaimed, trying to forget all the diction lessons that Anna and Elsa had taught him. If those soldiers had the slightest hint about who they were, both would die.

"Take it easy boy. Maybe this will be just a nasty incident without further consequences." The trooper who had helped to raise the corporal said to Kristoff as he seized Elsa's hair under the hood and raised her head, revealing her blonde braid. "Bad luck for you girl." The man said, drawing his saber and pulling Elsa's hair to keep her neck stretched out with the weight of the unconscious body.

"No!" Kristoff shouted.

The soldier didn't even turn. "Don't look boy! It will be better for you." He replied as he raised his saber to hit Elsa's neck, her head hanging under the fist of the man.

"Wait a moment!" The corporal shouted. It was obvious that speaking was painful for the man due to the hit he had received on the chest.

The man stopped his saber when it had started to fall in a deadly blow. "Corporal?"

"Look the scar in her right cheek."

The trooper looked at the red line than run along Elsa's jawline from her ear to under her chin. "And?"

"The description which was given to us doesn't include any scar. Don't you believe that we would have been informed of a detail like that? So we would have spared some innocent lives."

Kristoff tried to disguise his happiness and look confused as a hunter would have been. Elsa's scar was recent and the people in the Southern Isles wouldn't be informed of the scar she got during the attempt against her life in Arendelle's castle.

"Maybe is a disguise sir." The trooper replied, rubbing the scar with the hand which still handled the saber. Elsa's head swung, but the scar remained.

"This is a real scar. Please, don't hurt my wife we are just mountain folk. We aren't from Arendelle.

"It is a really terrible scar. How she got it?" The corporal asked as he put a hand over his ribs and massaged them.

"An outlaw entered in our hut, believing that she was alone, and tried to kill her. I saved her at the very last moment." Kristoff lied, thinking that a story as similar as possible to the truth would be more convincing. Those men were soldiers and maybe they could see that somebody had tried to cut the throat of the women lying at their feet.

"This scar is recent and she is so beautiful that she doesn't seem human, just as the rumors say." The trooper replied. "Let's finish her off and leave this place."

"She was attacked a year ago, but her skin is very delicate and the wound was so big that it had never healed nicely." Kristoff said to the corporal.

The leader of the patrol looked at Kristoff for a long time, but finally he shook his head with a expression of sadness in his eyes that made the mountain man's blood run cold.

The corporal turned his face towards the trooper an nodded. The man pulled again Elsa's hair and raised his saber to give a death blow.

Kristoff tensed his hand on his knife, preparing to jump on one of his guards, although he knew that it would be useless.

But in that moment a bolt hit the trooper's chest just in the heart. The arrow hit so hard that the point stick out from the back of the man. He looked down in surprise at the feathers of the short arrow which were half buried in his chest and drop his saber. Elsa's head banged on the ground.

Everybody looked in the direction from which the attack had come. A group of fifteen green and red riders had appeared in the top of the slope and charged against them. Some of them wore little crossbows and were firing its only shot against them.

"Arendelle's dragoons!" The corporal shouted.

But Kristoff reacted before anybody else. His guards were so surprised that he could slip among their sabers and pick up Elsa.

"Kill them!" The corporal commanded, but it was too late. Kristoff, carrying Elsa in his arms as if she was a little girl rammed into the great thicket of blackberries by the path. Kristoff felt the prickles piercing his face and hands. He expected that the fur clothing would protect Elsa from them.

Sven reared up and hit the head of the surprised hussar in front of him with one of his hooves. The man fell down and the reindeer put himself between the bramble and the remaining hussars.

The soldiers from the Southern Isles didn't even try to catch Kristoff and Elsa. The dragoons were too near. From his refuge, Kristoff saw how they run between the trees to meet two of their comrades who had been taking care of their horses.

The only exception was the corporal who looked towards Kristoff, who was barely visible among the prickly branches. "I don't know if you are a loving husband or a loyal servant." The corporal said as he saluted. "In any case you played very well your cards." He finished while starting to run towards his comrades with the horses.

The dragoons, who couldn't put their horses at full gallop due to the rough terrain, couldn't catch the hussars before they mounted their horses and fled as quick as possible. When the dragoons reached the great rock, Kristoff recognized Harald as the leader of the group. The young lieutenant's eyes widened in surprise when he saw Kristoff striding out of the blackberry bushes with the unconscious Queen in his arms."


	81. Poison

The soup in the dish was cold. Sigurd already knew that , for he had taken it from the cauldron and left the dish on the table half an hour before to ensure. Queen Elsa liked her food cold and he wanted to ensure that she would like that soup.

Anyway he acted as if he was checking its temperature, and when he was sure that nobody was seeing him, he discreetly opened a little vial hidden in his left sleeve and poured its content into the dish. The man frowned. The bottle was almost empty after spending a good part of it in the food inside the saddlebags which finally wasn't eaten by the Queen.

_Damned mountain man._ He thought. Kristoff's rejection to carry the food for the Queen had supposed a waste of a good amount of the contents of the vial. He didn't know too much about poisons, but there was more than the dose of a week and he supposed that, being the Queen still weakened by the previous doses, that would be enough to kill her.

Anyway he didn't have any other option. There wasn't more poison and the orders were clear. The Queen should die before the army engaged in any major battle and everybody knew that they were about to face the Southern Isles' army.

He put the dish on a tray and covered it with a metallic cloche. In the other dishes, its function was to keep the soup hot. Since Elsa's food was cold, it's only function was just ornamental.

"Princess Anna has ordered to serve the food." A soldier clad in the uniform of a grenadier said in a loud voice. All the servants started to carry food, one approached Sigurd and stretched an arm to take the Queen's plate.

Sigurd shook his head. "I will bring it." He replied, taking the tray. He inwardly prayed for being able to hide his nervousness.

* * *

"Your sister will fade." Anna remembered Lady D'Arvanville's words when she entered the tent prepared for the meal. She hadn't been able to take out of her mind those words. She still could see Lady D'Arvanville saying them in Arendelle's harbor about to depart with her son.

Anna had tried to convince herself that they came out of contempt and frustration for being defeated by her sister. But, since they had popped up in the Princess' mind when she had parted with her sister, they had haunted her during all the days she had been expecting her return from her expedition.

She had momentarily forgotten them when, a few hours ago, her sister, bruised and deeply affected, had returned. It had been a pleasant surprise to find that Elsa was in an unexpected good condition, although she still was weak, suffered a terrible headache due to the blows she had received during the encounter with the hussars and Anna could see a sadness in her eyes that wasn't there when they parted.

Both sisters had only embraced each other for a brief while before the Queen started an endless meeting with the senior officers of the army. There were a lot of details to handle. The enemy army would reach Arendelle's positions the next day and the plan to receive them had to be ready.

Anna hadn't even been able to stay with Kristoff. Some junior officers wanted to hear his descriptions of the uniforms he had seen when scouting around the enemy army. They tried to figure out how many regiments they would face and how weakened they would be. Anna only could obtain a furtive kiss from him before he was kidnapped by them.

So Anna had stayed in the meeting, hearing her sister instructions to the officers, trying to fix in her memory all the details. _Tomorrow maybe I should ensure that some of these orders are accomplished._ She thought. But when she noticed that it was an hour after dinner time, Anna had decided to force her sister to eat.

The Princess approached to Elsa, who was talking with Rolf and François about the placements for the horse battery, and told her that she would ask for the food to be served and that they had arranged a tent for dinner with the officers of the army in order to keep their spirits up before the battle.

Elsa frowned. It was obvious that she would have preferred to go on with the meeting, but she had finally replied that it was a very good idea, although her voice was unconvincing.

Anna quickly left the meeting to avoid second thoughts and went _ to the tent where they had prepared three long tables.

Then, when Anna saw the large tables with so many empty chairs at them, she couldn't help thinking about how many of them would be empty after the battle at tomorrow's supper and D'Arvanville words returned to her mind.

Anna thought of Elsa's sadness and she was filled with a sense of foreboding. _Taking into account what she_ _has__ been forced to do against __Hans' __s_ _army, _ _her__ sadness is perfectly normal. Anyway she was in a far worse condition when we parted. Her voice isn't so weak. I suppose that meeting Erick is the reason of that miracle._ Anna said inwardly, trying to cheer herself up, but D'Arvanville's words still sounded in her mind.

At that moment the servants started to enter the tent wearing the dishes and trays full of food, rousing Anna from her reverie. She observed how they placed the dishes in front of every seat, trying to hide her concern.

Sigurd entered with a dish in his hands and smiled to Anna as he put the dish in front of Elsa's chair. "I have prepared the Queen's favorite soup. We have to ensure that she gets better."

"Thank you Sigurd!" Anna replied with a broad smile on her face.

"Please, ensure that she takes it all. I don't know what she ate when she was out of the encampment. I'm sure that Kristoff is a great hunter and he done his best, but..."

Anna laughed as she patted the cook's shoulder. "Don't worry Sigurd. I will make sure that Elsa eats her soup."

The man smiled back and left the Princess of Arendelle alone in the tent.

_Although the soup will get cold, if they don't put and end to the meeting. Well that won't affect Elsa's dish. It will be cold anyway. _Anna thought, as she approached to Elsa's place in the table. She raised the cloche and looked at the soup, which was as cold as she had supposed.

_What a wonderful smell anyway_. Anna thought bending, approaching her face to the dish.

"It is really good. Isn't it?" A voice said, provoking Anna to suddenly raise her head to see two dragoons entering through the door of the tent bringing a table.

"I'm sorry Princess Anna! I didn't want to bother you." The dragoon who had spoken said in surprise. It was obvious that he hadn't recognized the Princess when Anna was bent over the dish.

"Don't worry. You didn't bother me at all." Anna replied a bit embarrassed. "Why do you bring this table?"

"Instructions of the Queen." The dragoon answered. "She wants to go on with the meeting during the meal and she ordered to bring a table to put the papers. She doesn't want to stain them with food."

Anna sighed. "I should have supposed that my sister wouldn't interrupt the meeting so quickly."

Both soldiers laughed as they left the table in one corner of the tent. "But it will be difficult to concentrate in the maps with this delicious food on the table." The dragoon warily said.

"It looks fine, but it is not healthy. At least not for us." The other dragoon, an old veteran more than fifty years old, said.

"Shut up man! The Princess doesn't need to hear your silly stories." The first dragoon replied.

Anna smiled. "Don't worry. Let him talk." Anna replied with a look of amusement.

"We ate the Queen's food that Kristoff didn't want to carry. The food smelt and tasted delicious, but that same night everybody who ate from that saddlebags felt sick and Frederick, who is so greedy and ate two rations, couldn't stand on his horse."

"It must have been the raspberries we ate with the feast. Frederick also ate a lot of them." The younger dragoon replied. "I'm sorry Princess Anna. He is always complaining. Your sister was very kind offering us her own food." He added as he and his companion left the tent.

Anna's smile had disappeared from her face. The old dragoon's words had provoked a surge of confused ideas in Anna's mind. _The dragoons took my sister's food and they felt sick. My sister is five days not eating her food and she seems better._

Anna shook her head as if she wanted to get the idea out of her mind. _It's impossible Elsa would be dead if she had been taking poison, something should be off in that saddlebag or maybe the raspberries weren't ripe._

But Anna couldn't help weighing to warn her sister, but Elsa had problems enough to worry her with just a suspicion. _Who could do it? Sigurd is the obvious option, but he is a trusted servant._

Anna feared to talk with anybody about it. If there was an assassin and the word spread, he would make a desperate attempt. She need to ensure whether her sister was in danger before involving anybody else.

_Your sister will fade. _Anna couldn't help remembering again Lady d'Arvanville's words. The Princess of Arendelle looked at the cloche which was placed over Elsa's dish of soup.

* * *

The meeting was a torture for Elsa. She would have preferred to be with her sister and try to forget the horrible things she had done or disappear with Erick and never return. He had been in the meeting with the cavalry officers and every time that she had looked at him she had felt an inner tension in her body.

Now Erick was studying with Reinhard and Harald a map of the area where both armies would clash the next day. While she discussed the final details of the instructions for the horse battery, trying to appear confident. Elsa never had liked military issues, they were a great expense for Arendelle without any real benefit for the Kingdom. So Elsa's military knowledge was restricted to the basic concepts and had to rely on the plan previously agreed with Rolf and accept any correction from him while she tried to figure out the best way to use her powers.

Time and again she glanced towards the young Imperial hussar now clad in an Arendelle's dragoon uniform. If their eyes met, she quickly averted hers, but she couldn't help to keep giving quick glances.

Erick had rejected the suggestion from Rolf to stay apart from the fight, and when he had been told that they couldn't accept military support from the Empire, he had just asked for an Arendelle's uniform. Rolf had finally given up, pressed by Anna and Reinhard, who had praised Erick's command of the retreat from the fortress.

Elsa inwardly told herself that she should be worried by what could happen to the young hussar, but she knew that nobody would keep Erick away and, much to her own surprise, Elsa felt a great assurance seeing him.

"With all due respect Queen Elsa, why don't you use your powers to destroy the Southern Isles' cannons?" François asked.

Elsa tried to center her attention in the Frenchman. Rolf had asked him to take the horse battery under his control and he had accepted. Although François wasn't an artilleryman, he had learned enough from Nelberg to command it and the soldiers would willingly follow him.

"I agree with him." Heinst said.

Rolf frowned, but Elsa replied before him. "My powers don't have that range. They can't affect something more than one hundred meters away from me."

"During the storm you were more than one hundred meters from us and I can assure you that it affected us." François replied.

Elsa shook her head. "Weather is a different issue. I create a storm around me and it just" The Queen hesitated, not knowing what word was correct. She was not used to talk about her powers. "Expands in a natural way. That's why the storm is always strongest around me. But my ice constructions stay where they appear and cannot be created far away from me."

The Frenchmen nodded, but it was obvious that he didn't like the idea of facing three field batteries.

"You are not from Arendelle and you served in my army due to your bonds with Nelberg." Elsa said. "If you don't want to fight with us I will allow you to leave. The communications with Arendelle are interrupted due to the snow, but you could cross the mountains towards the east."

François stiffened. "Even death doesn't have power enough to cut some bonds. I will finish Nelberg's task, but he didn't encourage suicide."

"You have been informed of the plan. We will resist their attack behind the defenses which our soldiers are digging." Rolf said.

"Defense never won a battle." The Frenchman replied.

"We will wait for an error of the enemy. We will bide our time to attack." Rolf said.

"And do you believe that Valsroom will make any error?" François asked.

Heinst seemed about to reply, but he refrained himself.

"Even the best make errors. When..." Rolf stopped talking when he noticed that Kristoff was approaching them.

"Elsa. I mean Queen Elsa. It's time to go for dinner. Princess Anna is waiting." The mountain man said.

Elsa inwardly smiled. She and Kristoff had been busy since they had arrived at the encampment. "We will finish in a minute. Could you go with Anna and tell her that?"

Kristoff nodded and left the room. Elsa's resistance impressed him. She had been unconscious due to the blows to the head for the previous night. For the entire morning she had a severe headache which made her dizzy and she was in the meeting as if she was fresh as a daisy.

Kristoff met Olaf waiting outside the tent. The snowman had been finally released from his confinement in cages. The little snowman seemed sad. He didn't like the military atmosphere which combined nervousness, contained aggressivity and hidden fear.

"Where is Anna?" Olaf asked.

"She is preparing the meal. Come with me." Kristoff said, striding towards the tent followed by the snowman.

"Have you found the flute player?" Kristoff asked, trying to cheer him up. Olaf had proposed to form a little band with the soldiers from Arendelle to liven up the meal and he had been searching for a dragoon who was adept at playing such instrument.

"He is dead." Olaf answered. "He was with Reinhard's patrol and his friends told me that he died defending a bridge. But he was a very nice fellow!" It was obvious that the death of a nice person didn't match with the little snowman's vision of the world.

Kristoff shook his head and asked himself if Elsa had been right trying to keep Olaf aside. They had reached the tent where Anna was waiting and both entered to find the Princess of Arendelle seated at her place in the table eating soup.

"So hungry are you that you couldn't wait?" Kristoff laughed.

"This is not my soup. I have swapped Elsa's soup with mine."

"And why did you do that? Have you developed a taste for cold soup?"

"No. The men who ate the rations destined for Elsa which you didn't want to carry felt sick. I suspect that somebody is poisoning Elsa and I want to check it."

Olaf looked at Anna in surprise. "Are you sure that it is a good idea?"

Kristoff slowly shook his head. "I don't believe that it is a good idea."

"Don't worry. Nobody died due to the poison and Elsa had been taking it during days." Anna said before taking a spoonful of soup.

"Anna , leave that spoon immediately." Kristoff exclaimed, coming close to Anna.

"Don't shout and pay attention." The Princess of Arendelle replied, taking another spoonful. "Sigurd is the obvious suspect. He always can access to my sister's food."

"Anna please. Stop this." Kristoff begged.

Anna didn't stop. "Nobody in the entire squadron suffered serious injures and my sister has been eating that for days. What could happen?"

Kristoff looked at Anna in astonishment. "You are eating poisoned soup and you ask what could happen?"

"Be reasonable. I will just feel sick and then we will be completely sure that Sigurd is trying to kill my sister."

Kristoff grasped Anna's arm which held the spoon. "You must be reasonable and stop eating that."

Anna frowned. "And how could we ensure that there isn't something wrong in this soup? Am I to see my sister, who is already weakened, taste it?"

"Throw away the soup!" Olaf proposed.

"Then they will try again tonight or tomorrow." Anna replied.

"Another person could..." Kristoff hesitated.

Anna stood up. "I'm supposed to order one of our subjects to..." She started to say, but suddenly she stopped talking and raised a hand to her temple. "I don't feel fine." She muttered.

Suddenly the Princess of Arendelle collapsed and Kristoff hardly could catch her before she hit the ground.

"Anna! What have you done?" Kristoff shouted, seeing that her skin had turned pale and she gasped as if she couldn't breath.


	82. Behind the Fence

Anna's face was white as the sheets of her bed and it was necessary to put a mirror under her nose to notice that she was still breathing. The Princess of Arendelle laid on a bed in her tent. Seated at her side, Elsa held her hand.

Erick entered, putting aside the flaps of the tent. "How is she?"

"Nothing has changed." The Queen of Arendelle replied. "A few hours before, she muttered something about not fading, but now she could be dead."

"According to Gudvard, she is fighting against the poison. We must trust that she will be strong enough."

Elsa shrugged. "Do we have any other option?" Elsa averted her eyes from her sister's pale face and looked at Erick. " Have you come to fetch me?"

He nodded. "The men have already dug the trench, Rolf is waiting for you."

But the Queen of Arendelle didn't let go of her sister's hand. "I should have been with her instead of attending that meeting."

"It wouldn't have changed the situation. Anna would have swallowed the poison to protect you anyway."

Elsa turned her face towards Anna, raised a hand and gently brushed a lock of hair off her sister's forehead. "Why does she always take the blow which is aimed against me?" A tear slid down the Queen's cheek.

Erick stepped forward and put his hands over Elsa's shoulders. "Elsa, time is of the essence. Everything must be ready before dawn and you cannot help her. Kristoff will be at her side."

Elsa put her hand on Erick's. For a while she remained seated with one hand touching Anna's hair and the other holding his. "I can't bear it anymore. I have killed hundreds of soldiers, I have provoked pain and suffering on my subjects, and now Anna is the next to pay the prize. I wish I had never been born or my mother had killed me the day she discovered my powers. Arendelle would have remained a little and irrelevant country, my subjects would have been happier and Anna wouldn't have been poisoned."

The Queen felt Erick's hands grasping her shoulders, as if the hussar tried instinctively to keep her away from such thoughts. "Elsa. Everybody must choose how to use his abilities. You chose to use your powers to increase the wealth of your Kingdom and the prosperity of your subjects. You used them against people when you didn't have another choice."

"Explain it to the dead soldiers who had a frozen death by my storm or the women killed by the hussars because they looked like me." Elsa replied with her eyes fixed again on Anna's still face.

" Those soldiers were invading your country and you didn't give the order to kill those women."

"If I had disappeared and Anna were the Queen of Arendelle, nothing of this would have happened."

Erick shook his head. "You are so innocent. I have seen things worse than those and there was no Snow Queen to justify them. The Southern Isles were too willing to invade Arendelle. They would have attacked sooner or later. They were just waiting for their opportunity."

"Halkett wouldn't have allowed that."

"Halkett would have allowed anything beneficial to his interests. You cannot depend on the goodwill of the powerful and we are not defeated yet."

"Do you believe we can win?"

"They outnumber us four to one in infantry, three to one in artillery and two to one in cavalry, but our position is very good."

A joyless smile appeared on Elsa's lips. "You aren't supposed to be a diplomat, but a soldier, and now you are avoiding a reply as if you were a diplomat."

"We have your powers at our side and that gives us an opportunity."

Elsa shook her head. "Rolf told me to be ready to leave Arendelle if we are defeated. He is fighting to get better conditions for our surrender. Our only opportunity was to stop them at the fortress. This is a good position, but we lost two companies during the retreat from the fortress and the northern barons' companies deserted us."

"Once, during an unfinished chess game, you told me that you wouldn't allow your country and your sister to be used as a bargaining chip. You were so proud and fierce, fighting alone against everybody that I think I started to fall in love with you at that very moment. Have you given up?" Erick replied.

"I never imagined that we would face a war. I cannot allow that they sacrifice their lives for me in an useless battle."

"Nobody knows the result of a battle until it is fought."

"And you would fight a battle just out of pride and stubbornness?"

"Sometimes pride and stubbornness is the only thing that allows us to stand."

Elsa remained in silence for a long while. Finally she bent down to kiss Anna's cheek. She raised and nodded, looking at Erick. "I will use my powers again against people. But I can't help fearing what I am going to become. Will I be the monster everybody feared?" Erick could see fear in the young Queen's eyes.

"Whatever you become I will be at your side." Erick said as he gently brushed a blonde lock off Elsa's forehead. "Whatever we become, we always fight to the bitter end. Don't we?"

Elsa pursed her lips and squeezed Erick's hand as she slightly nodded with a short and quick movement. "Of course we do." She said and both kissed for a long time before the Queen, after taking a last glance at her sister, left the tent.

* * *

Rolf was on the top of one of the new ice bastions, looking at the little valley in front of him. It was a small and narrow u-shaped valley which ran from North to South. Its slopes were steep and covered with fir forests which only left a narrow open space at the floor of the valley. A little river started in its Northern extreme from the waters of a beautiful cascade which fell from a hanging valley and went along its entire length until it came to an end in a greater valley in the southern extreme. The main road which connected the Southern Isles with Arendelle went along the river from the greater valley at the South to a mountain pass that went over the cascade at the North end.

Rolf had chosen that place because it was very narrow and Arendelle's scarce forces were able to occupy its entire width, so the Southern Isles army wouldn't be able to flank them. There were other ways to reach Arendelle, but this was the quickest one and he was sure that Valsroom wouldn't miss that opportunity to smash Arendelle's army.

The river at the bottom of the valley had a small tributary. It was a little stream which joined the river near the Northern extreme of the valley. It came from a spring in the western hillside and crossed the rocky bottom of the valley in little bends. The little stream had carved a shallow gully one meter deep in the uneven terrain.

Rolf had decided that they would use that natural trench as an improvised moat to give the small forces of Arendelle an advantage against the overwhelming forces against them. _They are supposed to have four regiments of infantry and we don't have even a complete one._ The veteran commander thought. _We will need every little advantage we will be able to get, bargain or steal._

Arendelle's men had been working the entire night to dig a trench which lengthened the gully from the western side to the eastern side of the valley. And after those improvised moats was the fence. Rolf had seen the Queen creating it a few minutes ago, but its mere existence still surprised him. He supposed that a part of his mind rejected it. The polished surface of the ice reflected the dim light of the morning sun, but it was a strange reflection as if that ice wasn't actually ice.

_It cannot be natural ice, it_ _is supposed to __with__stand cannonballs._ The long ice fence, one meter high and one meter wide, ran across the bottom of the valley just behind the stream in the western flank and the trench in the east. It ran in zigzag to follow the bends of the stream and also to allow overlapping of the defenders' fire.

Rolf heard steps behind him and turned to face Heinst and Asgrim who were climbing the stairs, looking in astonishment at the high ice walls around them. Rolf turned his eyes towards the east and saw the walls of the other bastion slowly rising. There was a little fortress, one story high with three-meter wide walls, on each side of the valley. They were near to the center of the line and their objective was to give support to the soldiers in the center who were supposed to bear the brunt.

Queen Elsa was building the last of them. She was supposed to attend the meeting, but the delay due to Princess Anna poisoning and the fact that it had taken more time than expected to build the fence and bastions had forced them to exclude her from the meeting.

"Do you still believe she won't fight?" Rolf asked Asgrim the Baron of one of Arendelle's southern fjords.

"We would have needed a real fortress and she has recognized that she isn't able to build one in time. The wall won't be high enough." He replied.

"According to the Queen's explanations, building ice strong enough to stand against cannonballs is not easy. She cannot build a fortress quick enough." Rolf replied.

"Let alone that she was wounded a few weeks ago and also is still weak due to the poison." Heinst added.

"Goodwill isn't enough. We can do a fierce stand, but Valsroom will prevail at the end." The Baron replied.

"If we are defeated, the fiercer we fight, the better terms of surrender we will obtain." Rolf replied.

"Providing that our army remains intact. If we lost the flower of our army here, we wouldn't have any power in a negotiation." Asgrim stated.

"That's why I ordered Heinst not to attack with the cavalry if any mounted unit of the enemy is still in reserve. Unless they can make a definitive blow, I want to save them to protect the retreat of the infantry."

Heinst nodded silently at Rolf's words, but Asgrim didn't seem convinced. "They double us in cavalry, Heinst won't contain them."

"We must take that risk. If we are defeated, Queen Elsa will go into exile. That will appease the English and we will start negotiations with Valsroom. If he obtains a Pyrrhic victory(*), he will be more receptive to our proposals. Take into account that they are facing a rebellion in Eastmark."

"Maybe he would be even more receptive if Queen Elsa wouldn't go into exile." Asgrim added.

"What do you mean?" Rolf replied in a defiant tone of voice, as if he was challenging the Southern Baron to clearly express his proposal.

Asgrim's eyes met Heinst's, but the representative from the other Southern Barony just raised his eyebrows.

Asgrim seemed uncomfortable. "I didn't mean anything. I didn't express correctly what I wanted to say."

"Of course my Lord." Rolf formally replied.

At that very moment the rest of the officers started to join them. They didn't seem very confident and their nervousness was barely concealed. The planned meal with the Queen and the Princess had been suspended by Anna's tragedy and everyone had to face the battle to come on their own.

"Gentlemen!" Rolf started to say when the last of them reached the top of the bastion, waving his hand. "We are at the head of the valley, taking advantage of its narrowness and steep slopes. Our army will deploy in a line across its entire breadth, which is especially narrow at this point." Rolf said while his hand pointed from one slope to the other. "That won't allow the Southern Isles' army to take advantage of its greater numbers of soldiers and flank us."

"Our right flank will be protected by the stream which flows across the western side." Rolf went on. Everybody looked at the stream at the feet of the bastion. The gully was three meters deep at that point and the bastion was also three meters high. Rolf had chosen that point for the meeting because it had the highest defenses in the entire line. Hopefully it would raise the men's spirits. In the rest of the line the gully wasn't so deep, just one meter, but it would be a good obstacle for the advancing enemy. "On the right flank our soldiers had dug a trench. It is shallower, but it will offer some protection.

"Queen Elsa is at this moment building a second bastion which will complete the fence on the eastern flank. All this, combined with the stream and the trench, will give our forces a good position to resist. Do you have any question?"

"Why is the fence so low? A meter isn't much." Harald asked.

"So it will be harder to hit for the enemy cannons. A higher wall would have been an easy target." Rolf didn't say that, according to the Queen's explanations, making ice strong enough to resist cannonballs wasn't easy and she wouldn't have been able to build a higher wall. In fact Elsa had seemed to be at the end of her tether when she started to build the bastions.

"Where will the cavalry be?" Reinhard asked.

"The cavalry will be on our left flank behind these hills. Heinst will command it. According to Kristoff's descriptions and our scouts, the Westergard hussars and the Uhlans will fight against us. Luckily, it seems that the Eastmark Cuirassiers aren't with the army." Rolf went on.

"Being that Eastmark is in rebellion, they should have deserted." Heinst said. "This is excellent news. Guntlaf, their commander, is an outstanding leader."

"Anyway, we are outnumbered by the Southern Isles' cavalry, so all our dragoons must stay together. I don't want them to enter piecemeal into battle." Rolf said, looking at Harald, Reinhard, and Erick, the junior officers who would command the dragooner sections under Heinst's command.

"I will be on that hill behind the fence with the horse battery and two infantry companies which will be our reserves. " Rolf said, pointing at a little elevation in the valley. "From that point I will have a good view of the enemy army and will manage the reserves."

Rolf paused for a brief while before going on. "Asgrim will command the right flank, Mark will command the left." Rolf looked at the young infantry officer. "Mark, your flank doesn't have the protection of the river and the trench has been hidden to make it invisible from the enemy's side. That means that the main attack may be against your flank. The terrain in front of you has several hills that will hide the enemy's maneuvers and will allow for a good deployment of his cavalry.

The young officer looked down at a map of the valley on a small table. He studied the hills depicted in the map as if he tried to memorize their forms, trying to imagine where the enemy would make his movement. "We will be ready to receive them. Could the grenadiers be assigned to my flank? They would be of great help."

Rolf shook his head. "The grenadiers will be in the reserve. They will form Queen's Elsa personal escort."

"Do you think it is reasonable to use an elite group like that in a ceremonial position?" François asked. Several officers nodded in agreement.

"I made the same objection to the Queen when she requested me to assign them to her escort." Rolf replied. "Believe me, she won't keep them in a ceremonial position."

* * *

"If Anna is still alive tonight, she will survive, but now her state is critical. If we moved her, she could die." Gudvard said.

Kristoff looked in dismay at the royal doctor, who had come to Anna's tent to examine her before the start of the battle. "Are you joking? There will be a battle in a few hours and, depending on its final outcome, maybe we must flee."

The doctor looked in surprise at the mountain man. The possibility of a defeat was present in everybody's mind, but nobody had dared to express it so bluntly. "You must trust our army. They won't be defeated."

Kristoff looked at Anna on her bed. "I'm sure of that, but what are we supposed to do if they finally are?"

Gudvard was obviously embarrassed. "The Queen has assigned five dragoons to escort the Princess.

"They wouldn't be enough to stop the enemy cavalry if we stayed here, and they would be a nuisance if we fled. Tell them to return to their unit. They will be more useful there."

"The Queen must be informed about that."

"I will personally inform her. Please dismiss the dragoons."

Gudvard nodded and left the tent.

"Do you want me to tell Elsa that you have dismissed the dragoons?" Olaf, who had been at Kristoff's side for the entire conversation, asked.

Kristoff shook his head, giving him a blank stare as if his mind was far away. "She is busy enough taking care of Arendelle. We will take care of Anna." The mountain man finally replied kneeling by her bed and covering her with a blanket. "Fetch Sven and tell him to be ready to depart with the sled."

Olaf's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you sure that it is a good idea?"

"No, I'm not sure, but I believe that we don't have any good options. I will harness Sven when everybody leaves the encampment."

"Kristoff, Gudvard said..."

"If Arendelle is defeated, Hans will not capture Anna. I'm sure that she would agree with me about that."

Olaf couldn't help gulping. "At least the four of us are together again."

"What do you mean?"

"Anna, you, Sven, and I. We solved all the problems a year ago. I'm sure that we will solve everything again now. Right?

The Snowman made the last question in an imploring tone of voice and Kristoff thought that maybe Elsa had been right trying to keep the little snowman out of the war. But he didn't say anything about that. "Yes Olaf. The four of us are together again." He replied with sad voice, putting his hand on Olaf's head.

* * *

Valsroom looked at the long zigzagging line through his telescope. The morning sun reflected in its polished surface, making it easy to guess what it was made of.

"It wasn't there yesterday. It has appeared during the night as if by magic." The scout, a hussar clad in yellow and blue, said.

"It is magic indeed." Valsroom replied without lowering his telescope. He was slowly studying the unexpected fortification trying to discover any little detail which could be useful during its storming.

"The left flank is protected by a little stream which runs parallel to the fence. It has that zigzagging form because it follows the forms of the terrain." The hussar informed.

"And to overlap the fire of the defenders. Is there no moat nor trench in front of the right flank?" Valsroom asked.

"No sir."

"Rolf is a perfectionist. I'm sure that he has made a trench or moat to reinforce the defenses in that flank."

"That wall forces us to change our plans." One of the captains said.

"Are you talking about that fence?" Valsroom asked with disdain. "They have disposed their forces in the way we expected. I don't see any reason to change."

"But sir, those defenses will block the attack of our infantry."

"Instead of easy it will be hard, but those defenses aren't high enough to stop our attack. We still outnumber them."

The captain, one of the infantry officers who would command the assault gulped and nodded.

"The plan won't be changed. The infantry will start the attack along the entire line with the support of the artillery." Valsroom lowered his telescope and looked at the Captains of the Westergard Hussars and the Uhlans. "Unless Arendelle cavalry surprisingly attacks first, our cavalry mustn't act until all Arendelle's infantry is engaged in combat. If we launch our cavalry too early, Rolf, who is elusive as a handful of sand, could start the retreat and get an opportunity to save his army."

"Is there any news from the Westergard's cuirassiers?" Hans asked.

The Captain of the Hussars, which had organized the vedette patrols (**), shook his head. "My patrols haven't seen them, although they have been watching the enemy at our front, not our back."

"We have no messages from them. They should have informed of their position." Hans said.

Valsroom shrugged. "The snow storm would have delayed them. It's a pity. Bakken's Cuirassiers would have been of great help today, but we must assume that they will arrive too late and do the job ourselves.

* * *

"My Queen, do you feel fine?" Henrick asked.

"I'm fine Henrick. Thanks." Elsa replied to the commander of her guard, but she didn't feel fine. The crown of Arendelle over her temples seemed heavier than ever. Elsa had to gather all her remaining strength to stand on the saddle. She hadn't slept the night before, taking care of Anna, and creating ice dense enough to stand against cannonballs was exhausting. But physical fatigue wasn't the worst. She had been walking along Arendelle's line of defense, following the instructions of the sappers, who had studied the terrain, to create the fence that would protect her troops.

When she had built her ice Palace or the replicas of Europe's greatest Palaces over the castle of Arendelle, she had felt that it was a dream come true. Her architecture designs transformed into something real and pleasing to the eye. But building the fence had been a butcher's work. She had used all her skill to devise the orientation of the different sections of the fence to allow the fire from different groups to interlink, allowing a deadly crossfire. _I will be responsible for the death of many men today._ She thought. The golden diadem over her temples seemed about to crush her.

But Elsa hid her feelings. Henrick was near her and was a keen man. When she had told Rolf her plans for the battle, the commander had recommended him as the leader of the grenadiers which would form her escort. The sergeant had returned from Westergard after the death of Jens Haavik, Arendelle's ambassador there, and according to Rolf, he was the best man available to protect the Queen.

Besides, Rolf's command post was on top of a hill and they were in full sight of most of the soldiers in her army._I mustn__'__t show any weakness which could make them lose heart._ She thought, hoping that the crown on her head would help to hide her nervousness She decided to feign indifference, concentrating on the deployment of the enemy units.

Rolf at her side was explaining to her the reasons behind the different movements. "He is distributing the artillery along the entire line, but I'm sure that the battery in the center will give support to the attack against one of the bastions on the flanks."

"And there will be the point of the main attack?"

"Who knows. He has troops enough to attack the entire line. He will force us to concentrate our forces in a point and then he will attack another."

"They don't seem to have a fourfold superiority in infantry numbers." Elsa said after studying the Southern Isles' companies which marched towards Arendelle's line with the battle flags of house Westergard at their front.

Rolf nodded in approval. The Queen wasn't frightened by the sight of the enemy army and kept her sharpness. Many brave men lost heart at the view of a marching army and counted every man twice. "Valsroom is keeping a reserve. Since he has a lot of infantry, he has sent two of his four regiments to engage our entire line. These two regiments already number twice as many as us, but we are in a good defensive position and they aren't enough to break our lines. He expects that we will lose our nerve and engage our reserves in one of his feints so we won't have any men available when he launches his main attack."

Elsa thought that, although the field of battle would be a mess once the battle had started, now it seemed like the initial movements of a chess game. When both players make previously decided movements to control a section of the chessboard or another.

Two Southern Isles' field batteries placed their eight twelve pounders in front of the western flank and started to shell Arendelle's positions. The heavy cannon balls flew over the little stream, but the low fence was a difficult target and the ice took the few blows which did hit.

But the sound of the cannons seemed the signal to start the attack. When the first piece shot, the Southern Isles' infantry charged against the fence. The green line of Arendelle's defenders was hopelessly thin compared with the mass of light gray soldiers charging against them.

* * *

N.A: Hi everybody,

I will try to publish a chapter every week during the battle. I think it would be difficult to follow its development, if I published a chapter every two weeks (hopefully I will be able to keep this rate :).

See you in Arendelle

* * *

(*) Pyrrhic victory: A **Pyrrhic victory** is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. The phrase _Pyrrhic victory_ is named after king Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose army suffered irreplaceable casualties in defeating the Romans at Heraclea in 280 BC and Asculum in 279 BC during the Pyrrhic War. (Excerpt from wikipedia)

(**) Vedette patrols: The French military term **vedette** refers to a mounted sentry or picket, who has the function of bringing information, giving signals or warnings of danger, etc., to a main body of troops.(Excerpt from wikipedia)


	83. The Western Bastion

The Southern Isles' infantry, clad in their grey uniforms, screamed hurrahs for their country and King as they charged against Arendelle's positions. Elsa saw a battle flag with the emblem of Hans' family, an unsheathed sword with its point down, in the front ranks of the charge. The entire line across the narrow valley was under attack, but Elsa noticed that some points were attacked only by token forces, while other sections got far greater groups assaulting them. In those points, the scarce Arendelle soldiers manning the fence seemed condemned to be wiped out by the screaming enemies falling on them.

But the grey mass of soldiers got disorganized crossing the little stream in front of the west flank and climbed its banks in little groups which were received with arrows and spears by the defenders. Two companies, one of them with the Westergad's flag with the sword flying at its front, went against the western bastion and several guns from the two batteries aimed towards it trying to facilitate the assault.

Rolf gave the order for the horse battery to deploy their cannons in the right flank to counteract the two batteries.

Elsa turned her head to look at the veteran commander. Rolf's face was inscrutable. If he felt any fear, Elsa couldn't tell. _Hopefully my own face will also hide my fears._ Elsa thought. She was with Rolf in the army command post on the top of a hill and she had a good view of almost Arendelle's entire line, but she was fully aware that it also meant that she was also in full sight of her soldiers.

Elsa looked at the six teams of horses at full gallop, dragging the light cannons behind them. "Do you already deploy the cannons?" Elsa asked to her commander.

Rolf nodded. "Yes. The men will fight better if they have support from our cannons against those two batteries."

They saw François placing his lighter six nine pounders in the positions already prepared in the fence and they soon started to reply the fire of the enemy pieces. But the Frenchman didn't let himself to be lured to a duel with them. Instead the pieces of the horse battery fired canister shells against the infantry, opening great gaps among its ranks. The well placed positions of the cannons cleared wide areas in front of the fence which broke the impulse of the charge.

"The cannons are not supporting the bastion. It is our key point in the defense of the flank. Will you leave it unsupported?" Elsa asked to Rolf.

"Don't worry my Queen, that bastion is over a deeper section of the stream. The banks are more than two meters high, almost three in some points. They will find there a hard nut to crack and I prefer to give support to the other sections of the flank. "

Elsa nodded. It was easy to see that the two companies attacking the bastions were badly mauled. But the Queen of Arendelle noticed that in other points of the line, although her soldiers were rejecting the enemy they paid a heavy toll. _The enemy is suffering more casualties than us, but they can replace them and we cannot._ The Queen thought looking at the two companies at the foot of the hill which formed the reserve.

* * *

"Go back! This side is also too..." The warning was suddenly interrupted when a big block of ice which had been thrown from the top of the bastion fell among the group of Southern isles' sappers who were trying to reach its base. It hit the sergeant Solberg's shoulder. The blow was so hard that he fell on the ground. The boot of one of his soldiers stepping back hit his head and left the veteran soldier half stunned.

The sappers had received the order to find a weak point in the little fortification, but Arendelle's sappers had made an excellent choice building the bastion in that point. The three meter steep slopes combined with the one-story bastion became a unassailable strong point in the middle of the western flank that split the Southern Isles' assault in two.

The stunned sergeant realized that his men were retreating from the deep gully which the little stream had dug, but he was unable to follow his company. The blow of the boot had left him half stunned and he laid in the ground surrounded by the corpses of his less fortunate comrades, too dizzy to move. He saw Arendelle's soldiers peeking from the battlements searching for any movement in the natural moat in front of them.

_To hell with Valsroom! _The sergeant thought as he averted his eyes from the bastion and fixed them in the ground in front of him, feigning to be dead. They had been told that they would just face Arendelle's army in an uphill defensive position, but the unexpected addition of the fence and the bastions had made impossible to beat them. He had tried with his company to go around the bastion and attack its left flank, hoping unsuccessfully to find a gentler slope and Arendelle's soldiers on the top of the bastion had badly mauled them.

He was trying to figure out a way to scape from the gully, when he noticed a shadow at the base of the slope. It was hidden by bushes, but he realized that the annual rise in the level of the stream had dug a deep space under the base of the fence. _A natural mine! _The sergeant thought.

* * *

Erick was hidden among the tall trees of a beechwood on the steep slope of the valley which towered over the left flank of Arendelle's forces. He and Reinhard had gone forward to watch the battlefield and inform Heinst who was behind with the rest of the dragoons.

_If we have to charge in this slope some of the men will fall_. Erick thought looking at the slope in front of him. A few hundreds of meters forward the right flank of the Southern Isles' army was trying to take the positions of Arendelle's eastern flank.

Their first charge had come to a premature end when they had found the hidden trench in front of Elsa's fence. The companies had fallen into disarray while crossing the unexpected obstacle, and after a half hearted charge against Mark's men, they had fallen back.

Now the third field battery was deploying their guns on a low hill in front of the Eastern bastion. From that position they would be able to give support to the next assault. Erick could hear from the West the fierce combat in the other flank.

"Those canons are too close to our positions we could take, spike them and return to our lines before the infantry could react. It's a pity that we cannot move." Erick said, looking at the activity of the artillerymen placing the pieces. The cannons were a highly regarded trophy. The winner of a battle was usually the side who had captured more cannons from the enemy and the soldiers who took a cannon got honors and rewards.

"Yes but we can't move until those friends enter into combat." Reinhard replied while he looked at the Westergard hussars. The entire squadron was on the top of a hill in the Southern Isles' rearguard. From that position they were able to reach any point of the field in minutes.

Erick winced. "Yes, and I'm not able to see the red Lancers." Erick said, referring to the nickname of the Southern Isles' Uhlans who got it from the color of their uniforms "According to the scouts, they are less after our past clashes, but we don't want to be surprised by those Uhlans. Do we?"

Reinhard slowly shook his head. "Of course not. I suppose they are behind any of those hills." The dragoon replied, studying the rolling terrain in front of Arendelle's left flank. "If the cannons don't give more punch to the infantry, they will appear soon."

Erick nodded. "The infantry must be of second class quality. Their attack wasn't very spirited."

"On the contrary, there is a lot of light infantry among (*) their ranks." The dragoon answered.

"Light infantry? which ones?" Erick replied, looking at the corpses piled in the bottom of the trench.

"The ones with the yellow epaulettes. Do you see them? The Southern Isles' line infantry (**) wear red ones."

"Yes. I supposed that they were members of a different regiment." Erick replied. "The light infantrymen are better marksmen. They would be useful storming a fence like that, but they should be gathered at a particular point to wipe out the soldiers on the fence."

Reinhard nodded. "I agree. But they are scattered among the other soldiers. Maybe this is the reason why they weren't able to break Arendelle's lines. I guess they will be..."

Reinhard's explanation was interrupted by the sudden thunder of the battery which finally had completed its deployment and started to shell Arendelle's left flank.

* * *

"Charge again? Are you crazy? They smashed us in the first try, I'm not going to give them a second opportunity." The Captain told sergeant Solberg, who had returned from the gully in front of the bastion after everybody had given him up for dead, although he hadn't escaped unscathed, a doctor was healing a long wound on his side from an Arendelle's spear.

"We will give support to the second company in the assault to the wall and we will storm the bastion from the flanks." The Captain went on.

"Sir, there is a hollow space under the base of the wall and the bastion. We can use it as a natural mine." The sergeant replied to the leader of his company. "It would be..." The sergeant suddenly stopped talking, wincing when the doctor poured alcohol on the wound on his side.

"Are you sure of that?" The Captain quickly asked.

The sergeant nodded. "It runs along more than one hundred meters of the wall by the bastion and it's shallower under the fortification, but I have put my entire stretched arm inside it. It is at least one meter deep."

"But why Arendelle's sappers build the bastion over such a trap?"

"They worked by night and the bottom of the gully was covered with bushes. I would have never seen it, if I hadn't been knocked down during the assault."

"Corporal!" The Captain shouted to one of his remaining men. "Prepare the men to launch another assault against the bastion." He turned to face the wounded sergeant." You will command the group that will carry the barrels with gunpowder."

"Yes sir." The sergeant replied with a smile on his face. "We will show the Snow Witch that neither storms nor ice walls will stop us."

The Captain left the sergeant with the doctor and almost ran to fetch the colonel of his regiment while he shouted instructions to each lieutenant or sergeant he met to organize the second attack against the bastion.

* * *

When Kristoff returned from harnessing Sven, he had taken off his Arendelle's dress uniform and was clad in his mountain man clothes. Olaf looked in surprise at Kristoff's fur clothing. "Why do you wear this clothing?" The snowman asked in surprise.

"We must be ready to depart. Help me to dress Anna." He replied raising his right arm.

Olaf realized then that he carried a set of fur clothes in his right hand. "What do you intend to do with that?"

"If we had to flee, she couldn't go with a nightgown." Kristoff replied, looking towards Anna, who silently laid on her bed.

* * *

"Do you see them?" Sergeant Renke said.

Mark peeked through the narrow slit in the ice and he saw a rider, wearing a long lance, riding behind the hills, galloping towards the west. The smoke of the guns was so dense that it was not possible to be sure about the color of their uniform, but he believed it was red. "I see a Red Lancer heading towards the right flank." Mark looked at the parapet as if he was about to get up to get a better view of the Uhlans.

"Don't do that! There are light infantry sharpshooters hiding in front of us and they are adept at shooting officers down. Let alone the fire from the cannons." In that moment a cannonball hit the parapet of the bastion. The ice trembled and a great crack appeared in the inner side of the ice wall, but the wall stood firmly.

The Sergeant, who had instinctively ducked, raised his head and looked at the great crack. "I can assure you that I have seen more of them passing through that gap between the hills."

Mark nodded. "They seem to be reinforcing the right flank."

"It's easy to see that they are more active in the other flank and they left us only their second line companies." The sergeant stated.

Mark didn't feel so confident. The light infantry companies were among the best infantry units in the Southern Isles' army. It didn't seem very sensible to assign them to a secondary flank. "Send a courier to Rolf. He must know that the Red Lancers may attack in the western flank."

Renke nodded. "Will you assign another lieutenant to command the bastion?" The lieutenant in charge of the bastion had received a bolt in the chest and died before his men managed to bring him to the hospital in the rearguard under Gudvard's direction.

Mark shook his head. The casualties among his officers and sergeants had been terrible. During the attack of the first wave a lot of them had been killed or wounded due to the excellent marksmanship of the light infantry. In fact, only a lieutenant and two sergeants remained in their positions. The rest laid dead on the ground or had been brought to the hospital.

"You will take the bastion under your command." Mark said to the sergeant. He had been going along his flank, assigning sections to corporals and companies to sergeants. His only remaining lieutenant was controlling the Westernmost section of the flank, which joined with the right flank, and Mark himself would control the easternmost part of the line. The bastion and the central sectors would be commanded by sergeants and corporals.

The soldiers around them, who had overheard the conversation, seemed uneasy by the new assignment. They trusted the sergeant, but it was a confirmation that the other sections were also in trouble and a neighbor in trouble wouldn't be able to support them properly.

But the sergeant didn't seem afraid nor worried. "Don't worry sir, we will keep them at bay. Even if they get enough courage up, the walls are strong and will stand firm, just like our Queen and Princess. Aren't them?" The sergeant made his last question to his men around him.

The men nodded and smiled nervously. "And we will raise to the occasion or are we going to be weaker than them?" The sergeant went on without specifying if he was talking about the walls or the two sisters.

Mark smiled inwardly. He had always judged the sergeant as a man who knew how to raise his soldiers' spirits. _I suspect that he will need to be adept at that if they are to stand against..._

Mark's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden explosion. A great flash from the western flank dazzled everybody, as if lightning had sprung from the earth. A low tower, outlined by the light, was visible for a searing second from all the points of the battlefield and a grave and powerful thunder made them duck.

"What the hell is that?" The sergeant exclaimed.

"The western bastion." Mark said. "They have blown up the western bastion."

* * *

"This is the herald of our victory!" One of the officers said when the battlefield was illuminated by the great explosion.

Count Valsroom didn't reply. For a long while, he just examined the western bastion carefully with his telescope, but a great cloud of smoke from the explosion made difficult to see it. "The bastion hasn't been destroyed." He finally said, but I think there is a great breach in the wall at its left side. Launch one of the reserve regiments against it." Valsroom had reserved his best two regiments for? the assault, planning to use them in the weak points of Arendelle's defenses.

"Don't we launch both of them? There is a weak point in their defenses." Hans, who was with Valsroom in the high and steep hill which had been chosen as commanding post by the Count, asked. "I have been always told that it is wise to concentrate your forces in a single point and a breach in their wall seems a good place to launch them."

Valsroom shook his head. "Even with the wall destroyed the gully of the stream is too deep at that point. I prefer to stick to our previous plan. Has the light infantry done their task?" Valsroom replied without lowering his telescope.

One of the officers answered. "They have been shooting the officers in the eastern flank. To screen them we had to keep the line infantry too long in front of the enemy's defenses and they have suffered a high level of casualties."

"It would have taken too long to break the defenses behind that trench. If the attack works we will wipe out an entire flank in a single strike. Are the red Lancers in position?"

"They have simulated to leave the eastern flank and are returning through paths behind the hills."

"Launch the attack once they reach their o the attack position." Valsroom replied without averting his eyes from the western bastion.

"We should start to move the second reserve regiment towards the eastern flank. So they will be ready to attack." The officer replied.

Valsroom lowered his telescope to gaze peevishly at the man, who turned pale. "And what would we do if our attack in the eastern flank fails? Keep them in the middle of our rearguard, they will have to run, but my Red Lancers and the infantry regiments already there will be enough to hold the enemy until they arrive."

_His Red Lancers._ Hans said inwardly. He was sure that one of the reasons for Valsroom to keep the operation in the eastern flank was to provide an easy prey for them. The Uhlan squadron was the apple of his eye and he wanted to give them a prominent role in the defeat of Arendelle's army.

* * *

The explosion caught Rolf by surprise. He had observed the unexpected new attack against the western bastion, not sharing the confidence of his officers that the attack was condemned. The first attack had been a bloody fiasco and he had been sure that the Southern Isles would avoid new attacks against it. Even though it split their offensive against the western flank in two parts unable to support each other. If Valsroom had sent again his men against that nut so hard to crack there must have been a reason, which was now obvious.

The second wave had been finally rejected, but it accomplished its purpose of screening the mining of the bastion. Once the Southern Isles' troops had fallen back from the gully, a sudden explosion had made disappear the bastion and its adjacent walls in a cloud of smoke.

Rolf waited to get sight of the fence through the smoke clouds. Although he had seen men flying in the air in different sections of the fence, he hoped that other sections had stood. Finally, when the clouds cleared, Rolf could see that a long section of the wall to the right of the bastion had disappeared with the men who manned it. The bastion itself still stood but a part of the wall at its western side had crumbled filling the deep gully in front of it.

"Tell the two companies in reserve to go to the breach. They must reestablish the line and avoid the capture of the bastion by the enemy." He said to and aide-de-camp.

"If you send both companies, we won't keep any reserve." Elsa said.

Rolf pointed towards the enemy. Among the smoke of the battle, it was possible to see a great body of soldiers marching from the enemy's rearguard. They marched in column (***) and went directly towards the great breach. "Valsroom is sending an entire regiment against the breach and we don't have any fortification to give support to our soldiers. If we don't stop them, lacking reserves will be the least of our worries.

"There is another way to block that breach." Elsa said.

"Can you create more ice from here?" Rolf replied

Elsa shook her head. "You know I must be near. I can go with the grenadiers section so you can keep a company in reserve."

Rolf shook his head. "It's too risky." He tried to stay calm. He had been fearing that moment from the beginning of the battle.

"Exile wouldn't be risky?" Elsa replied with irony in her voice. "Valsroom still has another complete regiment in his reserves and he will use it sooner or later. What would you use against that regiment then?"

Rolf sighed and nodded. He looked with fear at the slender figure of the Queen. She wore only her usual ice dress which didn't seem very appropriate for a battlefield. "A condition, you will follow Henrick's instructions." Rolf couldn't help remembering Elsa when she was young. A reserved and silent girl with sad eyes. For a second Elsa looked at him with the same gaze. " You have never been in a battle and he will ensure that you minimize the risks. It's for Arendelle's sake!" He replied trying to convince himself that he didn't fear the explanations he would have to give to Elsa's father the day after his own dead, if he allowed his beloved daughter to go into a battlefield.

Elsa nodded "You are right. I have to minimize the risks for Arendelle." She took off golden crown from her head and handed it to Rolf. "Please be sure that Anna receives it if anything happens."

* * *

(*) Light infantry: Light infantry (or skirmishers) are soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry fought in open-order, often in close co-ordination with line infantry, where they could screen the main body of infantry from harassing fire, and the line infantry could intervene to protect the light infantry from attacks of enemy heavy infantry or cavalry. (Excerpt from wikipedia)

(**) Line infantry: Line infantry is the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the middle of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century. For both battle and parade drill it consisted of 2 to 4 ranks of foot soldiers drawn up side by side in rigid alignment, and thereby maximizing the effect of their firepower. By extension, the term came to be applied to the regular regiments "of the line" as opposed to skirmishers, foot guards, militia and other special categories of infantry. (Excerpt from wikipedia)

(***) Column: A military column is a formation of soldiers marching together in one or more files in which the file is significantly longer than the width of ranks in the formation. The column formation allowed the unit rapid movement and a very effective charge (due to weight of numbers). (Excerpt from wikipedia)


	84. The Charge of the Eastern Flank

The battery in front of the eastern flank had been shelling Arendelle's positions for a long time. Since there wasn't any cannon facing them, they had placed their guns in a low group of hills very close to the wall to ensure an easy target against the low fence. For half an hour the artillerymen had been firing their pieces, taking a heavy toll among the men manning the walls.

Finally, at the same time than the reserve regiment attacked the western flank, the Southern Isles' soldiers charged. Cannonballs flying over their heads and the shoots from the crossbows of the light infantry among their ranks decimated Arendelle's soldiers. They used makeshift wooden ladders, some of them just trunks of trees with some incisions on their sides, to help them overcome the trench before Arendelle's fence.

But Arendelle's soldiers were well prepared for the attack. Men armed with arches and crossbows shoot from narrow slits. The zigzagging walls provoked the overlapping of their fire, creating deadly zones in front of the fence. Soldiers equipped with long spears attacked the brave soldiers who led the crossing of the trench through the narrow ladders.

For a long time, the fight went on. Although the entire flank was under attack, Mark noticed that the enemy was concentrating their men and part of the shelling from their battery in a concrete point of the wall, trying to overrun the defenders. He sent there a section he had saved for a situation like that and hoped that the enemy wasn't deceiving him.

He moved from one section to another trying to see which was dangerously weak and which could spare some men to reinforce other sections. He sent those men to the rearguard to form a small new reserve with all the men he had dared to remove from their corresponding sections. Finally he led them towards the zone that, according to his judgment, would become the critical point in the battle for the eastern flank. There the fight was fierce and some enemy groups had occupied parts of the wall and the cannons poured their projectiles on Arendelle's units which tried to reject them.

_I wish the grenadiers were here_. The young Captain thought while he led his newly gathered men against the greatest group that had crossed the trench. He saw a Southern Isles' Captain of light infantry who was leading a section of his men, trying to consolidate a small space they had occupied. Mark suspected that the rest of his company would be in the trench. _Hopefully_ _dead_.

Deciding that the light infantry section was the greatest danger, Mark headed towards them. "Follow me!" He shouted at his men and charged against the light infantry Captain. Both groups were about to clash when a sudden explosion froze everybody.

Mark saw a geyser of flames in the nearby hills were the enemy battery had placed its cannons.

"The cannons! The cannons are under attack!" The Southern Isles' soldiers shouted.

"Go back! They are attacking our rearguard!" Somebody shouted and suddenly the Southern Isles' soldiers started to flee.

Mark looked in astonishment at the enemy's rearguard. The explosion had blown up one of the carts heavy loaded with ammunition for the cannons. He saw men running around the cannons and the officers shouting, trying to control the chaos.

Mark wasn't able to see what had provoked the explosion, but even the light infantrymen were affected by the general panic in the Southern Isles' flank. They were jumping over the fence and running away from them. But their leader was one of the last and his eyes met Mark's before he jumped to the bottom of the trench.

Mark was confused. _This man isn't afraid._ He though looking in disbelief at the retreating soldiers.

"The cannons, they are leaving the cannons." One of his men shouted.

"What the hell! " Mark exclaimed. The artillerymen of the Southern Isles were deserting their pieces. He saw an enemy officer on the nearby hill. He waved his arms and shouted at his men. But Mark was even more surprised when he saw some of his men jumping over the fence trying to catch one of the appreciated guns.

"Stop! What are you doing?" Mark shouted and the nearby men stopped, but Mark realized that a lot of his men were jumping over the fence. The possibility to capture and disable the cannons that had been shelling them and the vision of the enemy running had made them brave.

Mark approached to the parapet. "Stop! Return to your..." Mark started to shout, but suddenly a blow knocked him and he fell to the ground with a bolt running through his neck.

"Sir!" A corporal shouted, running to his side. The man peeked over the parapet and saw the Captain of the light infantry and one of his men who wore an unloaded heavy crossbow running away. "Shoot down those bastards!" He shouted as he knelt by the unfortunate Officer.

Mark's wound bled heavily and the young Captain was choking on his own blood. He wasn't able to talk, but he desperately gestured with his hands. He pointed over the fence and move his hands back. The corporal supposed that the Captain wanted all the men back to the fence. He raised and shouted the men to return to their positions.

The nearest men heard him and went back, but with most of the officers and sergeants dropped to the marksmanship of Southern Isles' sharpshooters, few people tried to stop the other soldiers. Half of them had jumped over the fence and were charging against the abandoned guns. All the enemies in sight were fleeing and the cannons were too close.

"I'm sorry sir, but only the sergeant and the lieutenant had kept most of his men in their positions. The rest of the line is almost empty. Only a few men had remained in their posts." The corporal said, but he suddenly realized that Mark had stopped moving.

* * *

"Do you want the cannons firing or not?" François asked the young lieutenant.

"You have to understand that I need every man."

"You have to understand that my men had been loading and firing that cannons for more than one hour. They are exhausted, let alone that a good deal of them had been wounded or killed by the enemy shelling. I need men to replace the men who carry the cannonballs and the powder and concentrate all my men on the cannons."

The lieutenant sighed and finally nodded. "I can give you twenty men."

"Thank you lieutenant! My sergeant will assign their posts." François replied before leaving the lieutenant and quickly strode towards one of his guns.

The Frenchman looked at the western bastion as he approached to the cannon. The combat was fierce at that point and it was easy to see that it would be a critical point in the battle. After the blowing-up of the western bastion the Southern Isles' attack had almost exclusively been centered in the new breach and the rest of the line was attacked only by the forces needed to pin the soldiers on their positions, so they prevented Arendelle's forces along the line from sending men to reinforce the breach.

"He will send us twenty men." François said to one sergeant when he reached the gun.

"We need more than that." The sergeant, whose face was black as coal because he had been firing the cannon since the beginning of the battle, replied.

"Those are what we have. He is also short of men. Have you finally found the horses to move the third gun?" François asked.

"They fled when the shelling started. I don't blame them." The sergeant said, pointing towards the east. François saw a team of horses moving towards one of his cannons.

"But they won't arrive on time to the breach." The sergeant said.

"You are right, but we have to try. If the Southern Isles' take that breach whatever we do here will be useless. Once they take a position near the breach they have to fire as canister as possible over the assaulting infantry. The enemy artillery will try to engage them into a duel."

"The sergeant in charge of the piece is a clever man. He will realize that canister against that column will work better."

"And assign them one of our two ammunition carts. I want them well provisioned." In that moment there was an explosion. François turned his face to see a great explosion in their rearguard. "Assign them our only ammunition cart." He added shaking his head.

"Even with an ammunition cart near them, they wouldn't manage to fire quickly. They are too tired."

The Frenchman looked at the men serving the cannon. They have been loading the cannons since the beginning of the battle. Their faces and uniforms were as black as the sergeant's, their movements were slow due to exhaustion and some of his comrades had been wounded or killed.

"The enemy's crews are also exhausted. Now the frequency of their shelling is minor. Send ten of the new men with the third cannon. I want them firing as quick as possible." François replied.

The sergeant nodded and François looked towards the western bastion. It hadn't been destroyed after the explosion, but an entire regiment was attacking it. The fight was hard there and it was easy to see that it was going wrong for Arendelle.

"Take the command of _ these three cannons. I will go with the other three cannons. They will also be tired and short of men. François said, referring to the cannons which had been placed at the other side of the bastion.

"But sir, it won't be easy to reach them!" The sergeant replied, looking at the Southern Isles' soldiers who were storming the bastion.

"Don't worry." François laughed. "I have fought in worse places. I was a grenadier a long time ago." After saying that, he took a heavy spear which was placed by the cannon. Somebody had placed it there to have it on hand to defend the piece if needed. "Maybe I will need that." He said before starting to go towards the bastion.

* * *

In the eastern flank, the Red Lancers appeared suddenly from behind one of the hills when Arendelle's soldiers had just reached the cannons deserted by the enemy. The infantrymen looked in astonishment at the red Uhlans who put their horses into a full gallop and charged against the soldiers between the cannons and the fence.

Reinhard and Erick looked in dismay the whole scene from the border of the beechwood. Their elevated position gave them a full sight of what was happening on the plain.

They beheld the extermination of the Arendelle's soldiers who hadn't been able to reach the safety of the fence or the higher terrain by the cannons. A force roughly equivalent to one infantry company was cut off in the hill, looking in astonishment the bloody charge that was killing their comrades in the open ground few hundreds of meters away.

"We should warn Heinst. I think he must see that." Reinhard said.

Erick didn't say anything and just nodded. Behind the hill the Southern Isles' infantry, which had been fleeing a few minutes before, had quickly reorganized their ranks and started to march against the isolated Arendelle's soldiers.

Erick saw that the few sergeants who had joined his men in the charge against the cannons started to organize the defense of the hill.

"The hill isn't steep enough to stop the advance of the cavalry, the Red Lancers will charge against their back when the Infantrymen engage them." Reinhard exclaimed. He had swerved his horse to fetch Heinst, but the events at the bottom of the valley kept him in his place.

"They won't only attack the men on the hill." Erick replied pointing towards a section of the fence.

In that point some lancers were crossing the fence. They went through a section of the wall which had crumbled under the shelling, climbing the ramp formed by the broken ice. A small group of brave infantrymen tried to stop them, but the Uhlans killed them laughing and joking. After that they rode towards Arendelle's encampment.

"What are they doing? They are too few to take the encampment." Reinhard asked.

"They want to cause trouble in our rearguard. A few cavalrymen in our encampment could produce a general flee. I would do the same, if I was one of those Red Lancers. I would leave cavalrymen enough to keep Arendelle's soldiers in the hill isolated from the fence and send the rest against the encampment." Erick replied, looking at the Westergard's hussars who remained in their position in the enemy's rearguard. Erick was sure that they were waiting for them, hoping to crush any counterattack from Arendelle's cavalry.

* * *

"Stay behind us! They have recognized you and will try to hit you." Henrick said while he deflected a spear with his sword and quickly slid the blade along the shaft until he cut one of his opponent's hands off.

"I have to reach the breach!" Elsa shouted as she used her powers to shield one of her men who had been wounded in the leg.

"You won't go anywhere, if you get killed." The sergeant replied while facing a captain of the Southern Isles infantry.

The situation in the breach was worse than expected. Elsa, Henrick and the Captain of the reinforcement company had agreed that the company would take care of the breach and attack the bastion from its western side. Meanwhile the grenadiers section would attack the eastern side of the bastion which had a gate. The objective was to retake the bastion and allow Elsa to use her powers from that tower which had a good sight of the entire breach. They supposed that Asgrim, the Southern Baron, would have taken care of the defense of the breach and hoped to reach the place before too many enemies had entered.

But Asgrim had been in the bastion at the moment of the explosion and was dead. Officers from other sections of the wall had spontaneously sent men to the breach to contain the attack, hoping that the reinforcements were on the way. But the Southern Isles units which had been attacking the western flank had been waiting the explosion and they immediately started a fierce attack against the breach, overwhelming its few defenders. Other companies attacked other sections of the wall to prevent their officers from sending more men to block the breach.

When the reinforcements reached the breach the Southern Isles' vanguard had already crossed the stream and the soldiers of the reinforcement company had to fight outnumbered without the protection of the fence nor the stream. Even worse, the bastion had been already occupied by the enemy who killed the few stunned members of their garrison who had survived _ the explosion.

The reinforcement company didn't manage to reject the enemy. They just stopped their advance, although it was obvious that they wouldn't stand for too long. So the grenadier section had to attack the bastion on their own, but the Southern Isles' men took full advantage of their higher position throwing spears and great blocks of ice over them.

A group of Southern Isles' soldiers even made a sally through the eastern gate to reject their attack and start the occupation of the intact fence at the eastern side of the bastion. The grenadiers instead of trying to occupy the bastion, had to fight to prevent them from getting a foothold out of the bastion.

Elsa was furious. She didn't even see the breach, the bastion was between her and it. And everywhere her grenadiers were fighting with the Southern Isles infantrymen. Elsa had helped some of her men with her powers, but it was a drop in the middle of the sea and she didn't dare to use her powers more aggressively for fear of hurting her own soldiers.

Henrick dodged a lunge from his enemy and hit with his sword the back of the neck. The Captain collapsed and his men seemed less eager to attack.

"You have to return with Rolf , we cannot take the bastion." He shouted to the Queen.

"I'm not going to..." Elsa started to say, but in this moment a Southern Isles' sergeant killed the grenadier who was facing him and dodging the strike of a spear from another grenadier jumped over Henrick.

"Watch out!" Elsa shouted.

Henrick turned to face the enemy, but the sergeant was already raising his spear to run his chest through. There was a quick movement of Elsa's hand and a spear of ice sprung from the ground impaling the sergeant through the chest.

Henrick gulped, looking at the dying sergeant who had dropped his spear and held the ice spike with both hands as if he was able to free himself from it. Elsa at his side had paled and gazed at the blood which oozed over the great spike with eyes wide open.

"My Queen you have to leave this place now!" Henrick told Elsa, but she didn't seem to hear him and stood petrified, looking at the blood which slowly slid down along the spike and the sergeant whose movements were slower by the second.

Henrick grasped her arm. "Queen Elsa!" He almost shouted, trying to attract the shocked Queen's attention. He saw that his grenadiers could only stand for a few minutes the attack of their enemies.

"Goodness!" A voice said behind them.

Henrick turned to see François, who trying to reach the other side of the bastion had seen the death of the sergeant, and also looked in surprise at the long blood covered spike.

"Please take her to the rearguard." Henrick said and returned with his men trying to contain the enemy infantry.

The Frenchman approached to the young Queen. "Elsa, we have to leave."

She slowly turned her head to look at the old soldier at her side. "I'm a monster." She said.

François realized that the Queen was in shock, but he couldn't help laughing. "Then this field is full of monsters. Please follow me." The man offered his arm to the Queen as if they were in the middle of a ball instead of a battlefield, but Elsa didn't react.

François went on. "We have to move before they could..." He stopped suddenly. "Henrick watch your side!" He suddenly shouted, but it was too late, a sapper of the Southern Isles' who had joined the fight armed with a great pick had managed to place himself at one side of the Arendelle's sergeant while she was finishing off one of his enemies. The sapper raised his heavy tool over his head and brought it down on Henrick's back.

Elsa and François heard the sound of ribs breaking and saw him falling on his knees.

"This fight is lost. You must flee!" François shouted grasping his arm.

* * *

Kristoff was by Anna's bed. The Princess of Arendelle was clad in her travel clothing, but Kristoff had covered her with the blanket anyway.

Olaf entered the tent. He seemed sad.

"What happened? What was that explosion?" Kristoff asked.

"Kristoff the soldiers are still fighting. You must understand that..."

"What was that explosion?" Kristoff asked again.

Olaf gulped. "The enemy blew up the western bastion. But the officer who told me also said that a company of soldiers was on their way to reinforce it."

Kristoff looked in dismay at the little snowman. "The western? bastion destroyed!"

"Kristoff you have to understand that..." Olaf started to say.

"Go to fetch Sven. Tell him to bring the sledge."

"Kristoff you..." Olaf was suddenly interrupted by a faint voice.

Both turned to face Anna, who still in her bed, had started to mutter.

"She is getting better!" Olaf exclaimed.

"Are you sure of that?" Kristoff said, kneeling by the bed and approaching his ear to Anna's lips trying to understand what she was saying.

"I'm going to fetch Gudvard!" Olaf shouted as he left the tent running.

"Stop! He is too busy with..." Kristoff started to say as he turned his face to look at the snowman. But he stopped talking when, through the open door of the tent, he saw something passing very quickly by Olaf. Kristoff's eyes widened in astonishment when he realized that Olaf's head had disappeared. The headless body of the snowman fell to the ground, making a strange sound..

The mountain man got up and went out. A rider, clad in red and with a long lance, had Olaf's head impaled in his weapon. "What are you..." Kristoff started to say, not realizing that he wasn't an Arendelle's soldier.

"Hey here we have another one! Is a great one we can chase him with our lances like a bull." A man laughed behind Kristoff.

Kristoff turned to face four riders clad in the same uniform and holding long lances, some of them stained with blood.

"Peter has already cleaned his lance with the little one. Now is my turn." One of them, whose lance was still unstained, said approaching Kristoff. "Do you want to run? It will be useless, but it would add some interest." The man said as he lowered his lance, approaching its point to Kristoff's chest.

Kristoff was about to try catching the lance, but he thought that if he ran, they would go away from Anna. He was about to start running when a voice from the tent stopped him.

"Kristoff?" Anna's voice said. It was weak, but perfectly audible in the strained silence.

"A woman!" The Red Lancer said with a nasty smile on his face. "Don't worry. We will take care of them after your small run."

* * *

"Bakken! He comes at last and just in time!" Valsroom shouted, looking through his telescope. "I can see Bakken with his bald head in front of them!"

The reason for his happiness was a group of riders who had appeared, hastening up the road from the valley at the South. It was easy to see that they were Westergard's cuirassiers and Valsroom, who knew that the battle was in its critical point, didn't conceal his exaltation.

He turned to look at the battlefield. At the western flank the explosion of the mine had been an unexpected blessing and what was supposed to transform a feint into a real opportunity. He saw one of his reserve regiment, an elite regiment, already climbing the slopes of the gully and attacking the breach only held by a few men.

In the eastern flank, his maneuver to lure _ Arendelle's forces out of their solid position into a trap had been a complete success. He had sacrificed an entire artillery battery, but he would get the entire eastern flank in exchange.

His Red Lancers blocked Arendelle's forces in the hill with the help of the infantry of the eastern flank. They waited for the arrival of the second reserve regiment, which was marching towards them. He had feared that the reserve would take too long to reach the hill and that could give Arendelle's forces an opportunity to organize themselves and launch an attack to return to their original position. So he had been weighing the possibility of launching the hussar squadron to ensure that the soldiers trapped on the hill wouldn't escape.

But now it was not necessary. The Cuirassiers were well suited to assault that hill with soft slopes and he would keep the hussars in reserve. The heavy cavalry squadron will undoubtedly wipe out Arendelle's infantry on the hill.

"Send an aide!" He ordered. "Tell the cuirassiers to charge against the infantry in that hill, so the regiment from the reserve would attack directly the fence."

* * *

"We can't allow them to exterminate our forces! We are very close to the Red Lancers. If we attacked them, they would be caught by surprise. They wouldn't have time to react." Harald said.

Heinst and Harald had joined Reinhard and Erick in their advanced position. And the Red Lancers maneuver had started a hard discussion among them. The young dragoon wanted to go to their trapped infantry's rescue, but Heinst just pointed towards the elevation near the center of the battle where the hussars waited. "They would crush us."

"What kind of man are you? If we don't act now, they will exterminate our men in that damned hill while you hide here like an old badger!" Harald replied.

"If we reveal our position, they will exterminate us and then our entire infantry will be exterminated during the retreat if there's no cavalry to protect them."

Reinhard and Erick looked at each other in silence. They didn't need to talk to know that both of them had noticed that Heinst seemed sure that the army would retreat. So the leader of Arendelle's cavalry already gave the battle up for lost.

Erick couldn't help shivering. He hadn't taken sides in the dispute because they knew too well that they had to remain hidden, although he wanted to follow Harald's plan. But the sudden assumption of their defeat was shocking anyway. He averted his eyes from Heinst and Harald and studied the battlefield. Suddenly he noticed the riders that had appeared in the path from the south.

"Cuirassiers!" Erick exclaimed. "I don't see their uniforms, but they can only be the Eastmark cuirassiers. I don't know why they weren't with the main army, but finally they have come."

"That's the final blow. They were very good and his Captain a great leader. Do you remember how they chased us in front of the Southern fortress." Reinhard said.

Erick nodded. "I have an idea! It's madness, but we are damned anyway." He said urging his horse in a quick gallop.

"What are you doing?" Heinst shouted.

"I will try to deal with those cuirassiers!" Erick shouted not even turning his head. Erick had thought that the Eastmark cuirassiers should be unaware of the rebellion in their homeland. If they were informed, maybe the squadron would retire from the fight. _It is madness. But fighting this battle has more to do with faith than with reason anyway._ He thought while he touched the silver hawk which hung from his neck. _Maybe this present from Erling will be useful._ "Any Eastmark's soldier who sees that emblem will recognize it." Erick remembered Erling's words when the Count of Eastmark had given Erick the small pendant. _Now we are going to see if he was right._ Erick thought.

He rode as fast as he could through the steep slopes of the narrow valley. They were covered by trees that concealed him from the view of the enemy. But it was a rough terrain and he needed all his skill not to fall from the horse.

When he finally went out of the cover of the trees, he broke the chain of the pendant and raised it, trying to use it as a shield against any attack from the cuirassiers. But when he saw the cuirassiers vanguard, he immediately realized that they weren't the cuirassiers which had chased him during the combats around Nelberg's fortress. Their trousers were blue instead of white and the banner of the regiment wore a Westergard's sword on it.

Erick stood still with the small silver hawk swinging under his fist. The cuirassiers looked at him in astonishment, but they reacted quickly and some of them surrounded him, Erick didn't even try to escape. His horse was tired by the race through the forest and theirs were fresh.

"Where did you steal that?" One of the cuirassiers asked sharply.

"I didn't steal it. Count Erling of Eastmark gave it to me in gratitude for saving him during the combats in Westergard the night of the Imperials' massacre." Erick replied, too shocked to imagine another answer than the truth.

In that moment a Westergard hussar joined the group. "Count Valsroom orders to immediately charge against that hill." He said, pointing to the hill in front of the eastern flank. "You must crush Arendelle's troops there and..." the hussar realized in that moment that Erick was among the cuirassiers. "Why is this dragoon here? Kill him immediately!" He said, approaching Erick.

In that very moment Erick heard the sound of a sword being drawn. He turned a saw a tall an hefty cuirassier, completely bald and wearing the epaulettes of Captain on his shoulders, who joined the group and approached him with the unsheathed sword in his hand.


	85. The Charge of the Cuirassiers

"Is there a woman?" The Red Lancer who had teared Olaf's head out asked, swerving his horse. The man smiled and raised his lance with the white head impaled on his point as a trophy.

"Is she beautiful?" Other Uhlan asked, moving his horse to place himself at Kristoff's side.

The mountain man stood in front of Anna's tent, looking at the five Uhlans who had unexpectedly appeared. Kristoff asked inwardly why those riders had reached Arendelle's encampment. _Has Arendelle's army been defeated? I should have taken away Anna from the encampment before._ He heard muffled sounds from the tent. _What is happening to Anna? _He wanted to return with her, but he didn't even dare to avert his eyes from the Red Lancers.

"Go away, we aren't interested in you anymore." One of the Uhlans, who was pointing with his lance at Kristoff's chest, said, but Kristoff didn't move.

"Are you too stupid to understand me? Run! You can flee!" The Uhlan shouted. Although he was getting angry, he nonchalantly held his lance. Obviously, he didn't consider Kristoff a threat. He supposed that the fur clad mountain man was a servant or a forager of Arendelle's army.

"The boy is deaf. We should clean his ears as Karl has done with his friend, although in that case if he understands you or not would be irrelevant." The Uhlan at Kristoff side laughed, provoking the rest of the Red Lancers to burst out laughing.

"Kill that stupid! We are short of time and I want to see who is inside that tent." The Uhlan who wore Olaf's head at the tip of his lance said as he approached. At that moment, the white oval started to slide down along his raised lance. Kristoff couldn't help looking in dismay at poor Olaf's head, which went down until it touched the hand of the Uhlan.

The Red Lancer looked in surprise the white form impaled in his lance which was sliding down it in such unnatural way. _Doesn't he have bones? _He thought. He had charged against the small figure in the middle of the encampment path, supposing that he was a dwarf, but now he realized that the white head didn't bleed. Instead it seemed to ooze water. He raised his hand, approaching to his face the strange object in order to examine it when suddenly, two eyes opened in it looking straight into his eyes.

"Hello! I'm Olaf and I love warm hugs!" The snowman said as if being impaled by a lance was a usual way to be introduced. He had been a little bit stunned by the hard blow, but he had decided that a friendly reaction would be the best approach.

But the Red Lancer didn't share his point of view. The man shrieked in fear and surprise, brusquely leaning his body back. The horse, frightened by the rider reaction, reared up and the Red Lancer fell from the saddle and fell head first, hitting the ground with a strange sound.

The other Uhlans, who had been centering his attention on Kristoff, turned to see his comrade falling from his saddle and Olaf's body, which raised from the ground in that very moment, running to pick up his head, which had fallen to the ground. But the Red Lancers only saw a headless monster charging against them.

Kristoff didn't hesitate, catching the lance on front of his chest, he pulled with all his forces. The distracted Uhlan couldn't help falling from his saddle and before he could react Kristoff kicked his head, knocking him out.

The three remaining Red Lancers fled terrified, before Olaf's body got too close. They didn't even notice that the small body was too busy trying to free his head from the long lance.

Kristoff approached to the little snowman and extracted the lance from his head. It seemed deformed by the impact, but Olaf didn't seemed affected and Kristoff approached to the fallen Uhlan who had impaled Olaf.

"Is he unconscious?" Olaf asked while he tried to mend his head.

"He is dead." Kristoff said.

"What!" The snowman exclaimed in disbelieve. "It's not possible, he only fell from the saddle."

"He fell head first and broke his neck." Kristoff said.

The snowman approached to the red clad corpse. He seemed about to burst into tears.

"Olaf, he tried to kill you. He would have killed you." Kristoff said, trying to comfort the snowman.

"But I didn't want to kill him." He just replied with a great sadness in his eyes.

Kristoff was about to talk, but a voice interrupted him. "Kristoff. What am I doing here?"

Kristoff turned to face Anna, who had got up from her bed and stood in the door of the tent, leaning on one of the posts. The mountain man looked at her with a lump in his throat.

"Why are you crying Kristoff? Where are ..." Anna started to say with faint voice, but at that moment they heard a sound like thunder. They looked towards the battlefield in surprise, recognizing the sound of the hooves of horses at full gallop. The sound of a great cavalry charge. 

* * *

"Take the Queen out of here!" François said to one soldier while he faced the sapper who had cut Hendrick down, but Elsa was quicker, she took a step forward and raised her arms. A solid wall of ice appeared in front of her. The sapper hit it with his pick, but it got stuck in the ice, which grew so quickly that it ripped the tool from the soldier's hands. He tried to step back, but the ice was quicker and pushed him down.

"Solberg!" A voice shouted, but Elsa didn't hear the name, nor the sounds when the mass of ice covered the sapper and other soldiers. The ice quickly was as high as the bastion and started to cover it. The enemy soldiers cornered between the wall of the bastion and the growing mass of ice tried desperately to go through the gate, but the relentless advance of the ice was too quick. The wound at her side hurt. She was creating ice too quickly, but she was in a rage for Henrick's death and ignored the stabs of pain in her abdomen which seemed about to rip her entrails out. The ice pushed the soldiers against the wall. Elsa couldn't help hearing the shrieks of pain and desperation, but she went on creating ice.

The ice walls of the bastion cracked and finally collapsed under the weight. Elsa heard more shouts of pain and fear when the bastion fell over the soldiers on the other side. She suddenly realized that maybe there were Arendelle's soldiers fighting behind the bastion. _Hopefully, no soldier of Arendelle has been crushed under it. _She thought, although she knew that only luck would have avoided that.

The bastion was finally smashed. Elsa couldn't see what was happening on the other side of the mas of ice, but she decided that the only way to block the breach was to go on and create more ice, pushing the existing ice forward like a small glacier. The ice she was creating wasn't strong enough to stand against cannons, but she would create so much that the cannons would take too long time to destroy it. She saw that a good deal of the ice was moving to the sides filling the gully in front of the fence, so she didn't know how quickly the ice was moving at the front of her makeshift barrier. Elsa clenched her teeth, and although she feared to hurt her own soldiers, didn't dare to slow the generation of ice.

"Protect the Queen!" François shouted, running his spear through the chest of a sergeant who tried to approach the Queen. Some Southern Isles' soldiers hadn't been trapped by Elsa's ice and they tried desperately to strike the young Queen to save their comrades. The grenadiers quickly deployed around the Queen, although some of the men looked in fear at her who winced by the effort. She was dizzy and about to faint, but she kept on creating ice, hoping that the glacier would be growing along the breach.

The Southern Isles' reserve regiment, which had been about to reach the breach, stopped their march and looked in astonishment the growing mass of ice. The soldiers fighting along the line lowered their weapons to behold the mountain which had suddenly appeared in the middle of Arendelle's battle line. The entire western flank was in silence.

The soldiers who had crossed the fence tried to step back and return with their comrades before the gap was blocked by the ice, but it was too quick. The ice reached an intact section of the fence and kept growing breaking it. For a moment it seemed that the huge hill would crush the entire fence along the western flank, but when all the soldiers of Arendelle joined in a yell of triumph, it suddenly stopped.

"You can stop! The breach is closed. You made it." François said to Elsa. Although she stopped generating ice, she stood still for a moment as if she didn't dare to avert her eyes from the ice wall in front of her, looking at her distorted reflection in the uneven ice. Suddenly she fell to her knees and leaning on the ice wall started to vomit as she embraced her belly with both arms.

François stepped forward, getting closer to her, but at that very moment he heard the sound of horses and turned to see that the cannon he had ordered to be deployed at the breach had finally arrived.

"Unlimber here the cannon!" He ordered to the driver of the team of horses, pointing to a cannon placement already prepared in the fence. "Take the Queen out of here." He said to a corporal of the grenadiers. François feared that the Queen would reject the order, but she was so tired or so sick that she didn't even raise her eyes.

After the previous unnatural quietness, the fight had started again in the entire line. The lieutenant colonel of the battalion charging against the gap, supposing that the creator of the ice would be in the last point where the ice had appeared, made his battalion turn to its right to avoid the great mass of ice and started to march again. "Prepare it quickly!" François shouted. "We will need it. They are coming straight for us!"

The driver of the horse battery stopped the animals just beside the gun emplacement. The artillerymen got down from their saddles and started to unlimber the cannon. But when they had already moved the piece to the beginning of the ramp which led to its final position, they were interrupted by a sudden roar from the east flank.

"What the hell!" François jumped on the parapet and looked towards the source of the sound. Clouds of smoke from the cannons covered the entire battlefield, but his trained eye was able to see through the gaps in the smoke the forms of a complete squadron of cuirassiers charging towards the eastern flank. "Everything is useless." He couldn't help muttering.

* * *

Erick looked at the bald commander of the cuirassiers approaching him with the unsheathed sword in his hand. The Southern Isles' flag with the sword flew on the top of a pole behind him. Erick was so overwhelmed by the sudden certainty that Arendelle was condemned that he didn't even lower his hand which still held the small silver hawk of Eastmark, although it was useless.

The men facing Erick weren't the Eastmark cuirassiers with their completely white uniforms, but another regiment with blue trousers. His expectations of making them retreat from the fight had vanished and also any possibility of saving Arendelle's army from defeat.

The aide-de-camp from Valsroom's command post was at his side in silence. He had stopped shouting orders about charging against the hill where a good deal of Arendelle's soldiers from the eastern flank were trapped and just looked in silence at the huge cuirassier approaching. The commander was already by his side and raised his sword. Erick noticed the rest of the cuirassiers were around him, blocking any possible escape.

The sword went down and run through the chest of the hussar. Erick looked in incredulity at the aide who caught with both hands the sword which had impaled him. The aide slowly fell from the saddle, the cuirassiers around them hid what had happened from the rest of the Southern Isles' army.

"I know you, but you don't know me." The bald commander said. "I am Guntlaf and I saw you with Count Erling in the cemetery just after the Imperial massacre in Westergard. You helped him to escape from Valsroom. Although I don't understand why an Imperial officer is fighting with an Arendelle's dragoon uniform."

"Guntlaf!" Erick exclaimed looking in disbelief at the cuirassiers around him. "But you don't wear the uniform of the Eastmark cuirassiers!"

Guntlaf looked at his blue trousers. There was a hint of disdain in his eyes. "We took them from the Westergard cuirassiers. We attacked their encampment two days ago at dawn. We took the sentinels by surprise and nobody escaped. I thought that it would be easier to reach the battle if we were clad in these filthy rags and wore that damned sheet in a pole." He added nodding towards the Souther Isles' flag. "I even shaved my head to be more similar to the deceased Bakken, the commander of the Westergard's cuirassiers.

"The battle? You tried to reach the battle?" Erick asked in surprise.

"Yes. We almost failed to arrive on time. We had to force the march."

"But how did you know that Arendelle was going to confront the Southern Isles' army in this valley."

"A very nice man, well he was tall like a full grow man, although I think he is younger than he seems, told me where it was expected to be. He was a very persuasive fellow. For three days, he was in my encampment insisting that the best way to join the rebellion in Eastmark was through Arendelle. I needed some time to agree with him, but there were too many soldiers blocking the paths to the South."

"Where is that man?" Erick asked.

"He and his companion, an old bald soldier with a great scar on his face, left us once we decided to go to the North."

_Antanas and Steponas_. Erick thought. _They knew were Rolf planned to wait for the cannons._

Guntlaf stared gravely at Erick. "Sir please, tell me the truth. Is it true that Eastmark is in rebellion?"

"The last news I heard said that Erling was commanding an army trying to unify all Eastmark units under their command."

Guntlaf nodded in relief, as if he had taken a load off his shoulders. "Well it seems that we will die as heroes instead of being hanged as traitors." He said with a fierce smile on his face. "But it seems that we have arrived too late. The day is lost."

"Arendelle soldiers are still fighting and they won't surrender easily." Erick replied.

"I'm not talking about fighting, but about winning." Guntlaf replied, swerving his horse and going out of the cuirassiers circle. They were on the slope of a little hill near the eastern side of the valley. From that position they had a good sight of the entire battlefield. "Your right flank has a great breach and that regiment will storm it." He said pointing at the western flank. "Your left flank is even in a worse situation. That hill is a very bad position and your men will be wiped out early. Why we..."

At that very moment a great mountain of ice appeared in the breach of the western flank. Initially, it was a small white bulge by the western bastion, but it quickly grew engulfing the entire bastion and blocking the breach.

"Elsa" Erick muttered.

Guntlaf gazed in silence the ice mountain for a long time. Finally he nodded as if he was answering an inwardly asked question. "You are right! They still have guts and it can be done. Anyway there's no turning back. Can Arendelle's dragoons protect us from the attack of the hussars and the Red Lancers?"

Erick looked at the battlefield. The hussars were in the same position where they had been since the beginning of the battle, waiting in the reserve for the dragoons. The Red Lancers were scattered in the terrain between the hill where more than a company of Arendelle's infantry had been trapped and the fence of the eastern flank. There were a few Red Lancers, many of them were storming Arendelle's encampment, and Erick remembered Harald's words. _If we attacked them, they would be caught by surprise. They wouldn't have time to react._ But the hussars doubled them.

"We will do it!" Erick replied.

"Are you sure? According to our reports, Arendelle keeps only about fifty dragoons."

"Don't worry by the Red Lancers and we will stop the hussars. But you will have to work quickly."

Guntlaf's lips curved again in a fierce smile. "It's madness, but it can work and I would like to see Valsroom's face."

"What are you going to do?" Erick asked.

"There is no time for explanations." Guntlaf replied. "Return with your dragoons and protect us."

Erick nodded and left the cuirassiers, returning as quickly as possible with his companions. He had to go through the forest again to avoid being seen by the Red Lancers, who were so close to the dragoons' position. He heard the sound of the cuirassiers charge just when he met Reinhard, Heinst and Harald.

"What the hell have you been doing? The eastern flank is condemned we must join with the western flank to protect its retreat." Heinst said.

"They are Eastmark cuirassiers and they will fight at our side! We must protect them from the Uhlans and the hussars." Erick replied.

"What?" Heinst replied.

"Are you sure of that? They don't seem very friendly." Reinhard said.

Erick looked at the field of battle. The cuirassiers, formed in a great wedge, were charging against the hill full of trapped Arednelle's soldiers. The Red lancers and the Southern Isles' infantry raised their weapons and cheered them.

"They will fight at our side." Erick side, asking inwardly what the hell was doing Guntlaf.

The cuirassiers had put their horses in a quick canter towards the south-eastern side of the low hill full of Arendelle soldiers. The sergeants tried to organize their men in a square(*) to receive the charge, but a long column of soldiers, the second battalion from the reserve, was also coming closer from the south-western side and the men were too afraid to react quickly.

The great wedge was only two hundred meters away from Arendelle's infantry. The right side of the wedge, the one which was near the slope of the valley, was a little bit behind and had lost its formation, but the left side kept a perfect formation, a long line almost parallel to the marching battalion of the Southern Isles at its left.

The wedge was about to clash, Erick and his companions held their breath, but suddenly the cuirassiers in the left side of the wedge turned their horses to the right and put the horses at full gallop directly against the flank of the Southern Isles battalion. Their comrades of the right side, who had slowed their horses pace to be in a good position to support the new direction of the charge, quickly formed a line and charged behind them.

The infantry usually had two options against cavalry. They could form in closed order trying to offer to the horses a solid wall of men with their lances heading forward. In this situation the animals instinctively avoided the clash and turned, breaking the force of the charge. If it was not possible to form a square to get such closed ranks, the other option was to flee trying to disperse as much as possible. So the cavalrymen had to catch their targets one by one.

But the Southern Isles' regiment was in column formation, with the men in neat rows not oriented to block the pass of the horses but towards the hill. There was no time to react, Guntlaf maneuver had brought the cuirassiers too near and the riders just passed through the lines of the infantry with their long straight swords which were designed so that a trooper could cut down to the navel of a standing infantryman, without having to bend in the saddle.

The infantrymen were so packed and surprised that Guntlaf's men just had to keep their swords down to hit several enemies in a row as they passed through their lines. The column fell in an instant confusion as the men tried to evade the huge horses mounted by riders selected by their height and strength to be trained as shock cavalry. The officers tried to organize a defense, but their men were just a frightened mob which started to flee.

"You were right. We must protect those cuirassiers." Heinst said, with a grave face. May God forgive me.

Erick was about to reply Heinst, but he went on too quickly. "Reinhard you will be in the left, Erick take the right, Harald will come with me, so he will see what kind of man I'm." Heinst urged his horse forward as he drew his sword. "Dragoons, follow me!" He shouted, putting his horse at full gallop when he left the trees. Erick noticed that he had a strange gaze in his eyes.

Arendelle's dragoons charged behind him. They caught by surprise the Red Lancers when they were gathering to charge against Guntlaf's men. The Uhlans were so focused into what was happening to the cuirassiers that the Dragoons fell over them before they were aware of Arendelle's riders. So they couldn't take advantage of their long lances. Before they could react the dragoons were among them, and Arendelle's swords were better suited for a close combat than the lances.

"Don't stop! Strike them and keep going! Follow me!" Heinst shouted while he cut down a sergeant of the Uhlans with a single stroke without slowing the pace of his horse. The dragoons followed their leader and left behind the few Uhlans who had survived the clash. Most of them had been dismounted, although one of the few who remained in his saddle managed to spear a dragoon who had been left behind. The Uhlan uttered a shout out of anger and frustation. He raised his lance in a defiant gesture towards the dragoons, but he knew that it was just a gesture. The few remaining survivors of the Red Lancers weren't an organized combat force anymore.

"Don't attack the infantry. Follow me." Heinst shouted as he maneuvered to avoid the groups of The Southern Isles' infantry scattered across the field and went towards the cuirassiers rearguard. He used the great gap that had been left unguarded to allow the cuirassiers' charge.

The Southern Isles battalion had finally broken and their men were fleeing, trying to escape from the merciless cuirassiers who rode among them striking them with their long swords already covered in blood. But Westergard's hussars had finally started to move. They were charging against the cuirassiers flank who, scattered and disorganized after the clash with the infantry, were an easy prey. The hussars deployed in a wide front to chase the scattered heavy cavalrymen and some of them had been already cut down by the curved sabers of the hussars when the dragoons suddenly appeared from behind a hill.

_Why doesn't Heinst deploy the dragoons? _Erick thought in surprise. The logical tactic to contain the hussars would have been to form a wide front to stop as many of the enemy cavalrymen as possible. Instead of that the Arendelle's leader kept his men in a solid block.

Erick looked at the terrain in front of the fence, the cuirassiers had wiped out the enemy formations in the eastern flank, but they had just started to gather around their battle flag and would be an easy prey for the hussars. _Hopefully Heinst knows his work._ He thought, shouting orders to his men to deploy them a wider front, trying to stop as many hussars as possible.

* * *

The Southern Isles battalion was totally scattered and its members, fleeing from the unmolested cuirassiers, reached the small river in the center of the valley. The remaining officers tried to organize a defense line along the bank, but the cuirassiers were too close.

Guntlaf, surrounded by a dozen of his men, stopped his horse after crossing the river. "Call the men." Guntlaf ordered. The standard bearer at his side, who now carried Eastmark's flag with the hawk, raised the battle standard and the other cuirassiers started to shout "Eastmark! Eastmark!" Time and time again. The sounds of the battle didn't allow their cry to be heard too far away, but the nearest cuirassiers quickly approached and joined them shouting.

Guntlaf looked around him. In the other side of the stream the remaining reserve regiment, the last organized force of the Southern Isles' army, was forming a square to protect themselves from the cuirassiers.

Guntlaf quickly calculated the time they would need to consolidate a square to be effective against his charge. He also saw that only half of his men had joined him. The rest were too far to hear their shouts or were engaged in combat. The veteran cuirassier realized that they were too few and their horses too tired to attack the infantry regiment.

At the South, the Arendelle's dragoons were about to intercept the Westergard hussars. Guntlaf saw that some of his men were riding towards the unequal battle. _They are too few to contain the hussars. _He thought.

"What must we do, sir?" One of his men asked.

"We don't have any other option since we started this crazy charge! I hope Arendelle's dragoons will be better than expected." Guntlaf replied. "Follow me!" He shouted, putting his horse into a full gallop that would exhaust the few remaining forces of the animal in a few minutes, trying to reach the enemy infantry before they completed their formation. Guntlaf grunted inwardly. He knew that, unless the enemy commander made a mistake, they wouldn't arrive on time to avoid the formation of the square. 

* * *

Although the hussars doubled the dragoons, Heinst charged directly against the squadron's colors in the center of the formation. "Catch the colors!" He shouted, and skillfully leading their men through the uneven terrain, he managed to hit the enemy formation with almost his entire front line at the same time.

_We are too few to catch the colors!_ Erick thought seeing that the hussars' front line almost doubled the dragoons, but they were about to clash against the hussars and he raised his curved saber towards the face of a rider in front of him who approached at full gallop. Both groups of cavalrymen met at full gallop like fighting bulls. The riders tried to hit their enemies as they passed by to take advantage from the impulse of the charge. Hussars and dragoons fell from their saddles due to the violence of the clash and were trampled by their comrades who charged behind them.

Arendelle's horses were greater than their foes, since the Southern Isles' best breeds were reserved for the cuirassiers and the hussars' horses instinctively tried to dodge the greater horses in front of them. That slightly disorganized Westergard's formation a second before the clash. Arendelle dragoons, exultant by the sudden change in the tide of the battle and feeling that the fate of their country would be decided by the final result of that combat, worked their way through the hussars' ranks. For a second they seemed about to break the enemy battle line and reach the hussars' battle colors.

But the hussars around the colors were the best riders and swords of the squadron and they wouldn't allow the capture of the squadron's battle flag so easily. They quickly reorganized their lines and stopped Arendelle's advance. The packed center of Arendelle's formation stood the counterattack, but the flanks commanded by Reinhard and Erick were pushed back.

Erick dodged an enemy's saber as he passed by him and gave a quick blow on his back. He heard the shriek of his enemy and tried to get a second to see what was happening. In a typical cavalry combat the units rode one through the other and the combats were short and violent, but in this case nobody would give ground since both sides were fully aware that the final result of the battle would depend on the outcome of the combat, so the clash had degenerated into a vicious hand-to-hand fight which was difficult to control.

Erick stood up in the stirrups and looked around, trying to locate Reinhard's men in the middle of the confusion. Both flanks had been pushed back, leaving the center isolated, and he wanted to join with Reinhard in order to charge again to give support to Heinst. But when he looked around, Erick noticed that the flanks of the hussar's formation, seeing their flag under attack, had quickly turned towards the center to help their comrades. _They will surround us. Why Heinst has led us into this trap? We... _Erick suddenly realized that surrounding them, the hussars wouldn't charge against the cuirassiers.

The sensible course of action for the hussars would have been to use a minor part of their forces to deal with the dragoons and keep the bulk of the squadron chasing cuirassiers, the greatest danger for their army. But Heinst had denied them that option.

Knowing that the leader of the hussars would be near the colors he had charged against them. The hussar's commander trapped in a chaotic combat wouldn't be able to give orders to his flanks. And the hussars natural reaction had been to concentrate over Arendelle's dragoons to help their comrades and protect their colors.

_Heinst made it, now we only have to survive._ Erick thought, seeing the hussars of the flanks charging against them from all directions. _At least __until t__he cuirassiers complete their work._

* * *

(*) **Infantry square**: also known as a hollow square, is a combat formation an infantry unit forms in close order usually when threatened with cavalry attack. As used in the Napoleonic wars, the formation was constituted as a hollow square, or sometimes a rectangle, with each side composed of two or more ranks of soldiers armed with single-shot muskets or rifles with fixed bayonets. Generally, a battalion (approx. 500 to 1,000 men) was the smallest force used to form a square. The unit's colours and commander were positioned in the centre, along with a reserve force to reinforce any side of the square weakened by attacks. A square of 500 men in four ranks, such as those formed by Wellington's army at Waterloo, was a tight formation less than twenty metres in length upon any side. (Excerpt from wikipedia)


	86. The infantry Square

The officers of the Southern Isles' battalion were hoarse from shouting orders. When its commander had seen the fate of the other battalion in the eastern flank under the hooves of the cuirassiers, he had quickly ordered to form a square. The four sided formation with men tightly packed to seem a living wall, so the horses, which always avoided obstacles, would instinctively turn aside, breaking the deadly charge of the cuirassiers.

So the officers shouted orders to put their men in position as if their lives depended on it and everybody knew that they were right.

The Southern Isles' artillerymen ran, seeking protection inside the square and leaving their cannons behind. Everybody knew that being inside the square would be the difference between life and death when the heavy cavalrymen reached them.

The survivors of the eastern flank desperately tried to reach the protection of the square, running for their lives, but the cuirassiers behind them, now gathered around their battle flag, just ignored them. Their only objective was to reach the square before its ranks were close enough to reject their horses. Their great horses, already exhausted by the previous charge, staggered and some of them collided one against the other, destabilizing their riders and throwing some of them out of their saddles.

The Southern Isles' officers prevented their men from retreating using whatever menace they could imagine. The huge horses specially bred for this and the tall soldiers specially selected and trained for brutal charges which could decide a battle were a terrible sight to behold and even the bravest lost heart when they felt the ground trembling under the hooves of those horses.

Suddenly, when they were about to clash against the wall of infantrymen the cuirassiers turned towards their left and started to go around the square. The soldiers threw their arrows against the cavalrymen who were so close that some soldiers stepped forward to throw their spears against them and shouted triumphantly.

Guntlaf, hoping that the square wouldn't be completely formed in the four sides, had launched his men in a furious ride around it, looking for a weak point, although his men were paying a heavy toll due to the marksmanship of the Southern Isle's light infantrymen who had reached the protection of the square.

More cuirassiers scattered in the eastern flank, seeing their flag attacking the square, came at full speed, requiring a new effort to their already exhausted horses.

_They will only find a grave here. We must flee._ The veteran soldier thought, knowing that his men's horses wouldn't be able to charge again if they stopped.

Guntlaf stood on his stirrups and looked for a last objective where he could lead his exhausted men. He saw a group of deserted cannons on the top of a hill. _We could spike them and the hill is a good rally point for a last and useless stand._ Guntlaf thought.

He couldn't help thinking of his father who had been killed years before, when Eastmark was conquered by the Southern Isles and he, a just seven years old kid, had promised her mother that one day he would bring her the banners of the soldiers who had killed his father to dry her tears. _It seems that being killed against them is a sort of family tradition_. _I only hope that I haven't condemned by men just by an old... _Guntlaf's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the roar of a cannon.

Guntlaf looked in surprise at the Southern Isles batteries. _Who is manning them?_ He asked inwardly. But the cannons on the top of the hill were mute. He realized that the fire came from Arendelle's battle line. The cannon which had been sent by François to help in the breach was finally deployed and had started to fire with an incredible velocity.

The other Arendelle's cannons were too far to use canister, but that one was at point blank of one of the sides of the square and the Frenchman personally helped his men to load the cannon with the heavy metal cylinders to ensure that they would fire quick enough.

"Hurry up! Every shot keeps the enemy out of your homes!" He shouted at his men already exhausted from the previous combat who were forced to a last extenuating effort, firing the cannon quicker than ever. "Get away from the cannon!" He said to a sergeant who was cleaning the bore of the cannon with a great sponge fixed to a long shaft.

"We must clean the cannon among shoots. If any smoldering material remains, it will explode!" The sergeant said.

"We cannot spend too much time in things like that! Clean it quicker!" François replied. "And approach the powder and the ammunition to the cannons."

The sergeant gulped. Approaching the gunpowder and the ammunition to the cannon allowed to shoot quickly because it released more men to help in the loading of the cannons, but made them vulnerable to an explosion. "If there is an explosion everybody of us will die." The sergeant replied, but François didn't even hear him because he was helping two of his men to push a heavy canister load through the bore of the cannon.

The sergeant was about to repeat his words when he saw a group of Guntlaf's cuirassiers crossing in front of the cannon. It was a risky business because a shoot of the cannon would have killed them, but they were looking for a gap in the same way as a wolf harass its prey. The sergeant just shook his head and turned to order his men to approach the ammunition.

The rain of shrapnel from each shot continuously hit the ranks of the square like a ram. The packed men who kept the horses away were an easy target for the artillery. Every small piece of metal found a target through flesh and bones. And the men fell like ears of wheat under a giant scythe.

Guntlaf kept his men near the square. Bolts and arrows cut down cuirassiers around him, but he wanted to stay close like a vulture waiting for an animal to die. So the enemy soldiers were forced to remain grouped, becoming an easy target for François' cannon, and the riders would be ready to take advantage of any gap.

The square trembled like a wounded animal and the officers had to force the men to remain in their posts. The leader of the battalion quickly sent all his light infantry against the cannon, hoping that the artillerymen would be an easy target for his men. Some of the artillerymen fell under the bolts, but Arendelle's soldiers jumped over the fence and a cruel hand to hand combat ensued in front of Arendelle's positions.

The light infantry tried to shoot François' men down, who kept on loading and firing the cannon despite the casualties. Arendelle's infantry relentlessly chased them. Time and again a blast of shrapnel crossed the battlefield killing friends and enemies, infantrymen and cavalry.

But finally a section in one of the corners of the square which had received several enfilade shots collapsed and its men stepped back. François was about to order Arendelle's soldiers to charge through the gap when Guntlaf threw his men through it.

The cuirassiers went through the broken lines of the Southern Isles' infantry and charged against the colors and the Lieutenant Colonel in command who was at its side. When the soldiers realized that the center of the square was occupied, it just collapsed. Seeing the deadly shock cavalry behind them, the soldiers just threw their weapons and fled ignoring their officers orders while Guntlaf and his men charged over the men protecting the colors.

Arendelle's infantry left the fence and charged against the Southern Isles' army in the entire western flank. They were still outnumbered by Hans' men, but the numbers weren't important. The Southern Isles' best units had been smashed by Guntlaf's desperate charge and the rest only wanted to flee.

François looked in astonishment at the battlefield. In the eastern flank, Rolf led the last reserve company against the scattered remains of the enemy units. In the western side Arendelle's infantry pursued the enemy who had fled to the south. In some points, small units from the light infantry or the grenadiers made a desperate stand in a low hill or thicket of trees, trying to delay Arendelle's advance, but the battle was finished and Arendelle, against all odds, had won.

François tried to spit to remove the taste of powder from his mouth, but it was too dry. His face was blackened and his arms ached by the effort loading the cannon. He turned and looked at his men. The artillerymen laid on the ground in the same place where they were when François had ordered to stop the shooting in order not to hurt the cuirassiers. They panted and some of them even cried due to the pain in their arms. The corpses of their comrades killed by the light infantry bolts laid among them. _After fighting the entire battle, these last volleys had been hard. _François thought. "Well done." He said and wanted to add something more, but he was too stunned after the sudden turning of the tide in the battle. "Well done." He just repeated as he walked among his alive and dead men.

He approached to the group of surviving grenadiers who were around the Queen. Elsa was seated by Henrick, the grenadier's leader, who was still alive in spite of the great wound in his back.

"We win!" François just said, not able to show more eloquence.

"Are you deceiving me?" Henrick replied with a whisper.

François slowly shook his head. "No, the Eastmark cuirassiers changed sides in the middle of the battle. A squadron of well trained cuirassiers attacking from the rearguard is enough to ruin any battle plan."

Henrick smiled. "Jens will be glad when I explain it to him. He always said that Eastmark could be our ace in the sleeve when dealing with Westergard." The sergeant replied, referring to Arendelle's ambassador in the Southern Isles who had died weeks ago.

"Give my regards to Jens." François replied.

Henrick seemed about to reply, but his eyes glazed over and his head fell aside.

Tears slid down Elsa's cheeks.

"Do you cry for him?" François asked in surprise. He was not used to see members of the royalty crying for a sergeant.

"I cry for all the dead people from Arendelle and from the Southern Isles."

"Don't spend your tears for that scum. They were our enemies and they would have sacked Arendelle." The Frenchman exclaimed.

"But I didn't want to kill them! They were subjects of the Southern Isles' King and they didn't have any option but to obey his orders. They were taken from their families to be thrown in this damned valley and we didn't have any option but to kill them or being killed."

"In that case, put the blame on the Southern Isles' King. He started this war." The old soldier replied.

"And little people from the Southern Isles and Arendelle paid for that." Elsa replied. Tears of rage flowed down her cheeks as she clenched her fists in furious impotence.

_I begin to understand why Nelberg decided to serve in your army._ François thought. He raised his eyes and looked around him. The grenadiers weren't close enough to hear their conversation, but they looked in astonishment at the Queen.

"After Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington said that nothing except a lost battle can be so melancholy as a won battle." He finally said. "He knew very well how hard a battle was. Today's battle has been just a small one, but fierce and your soldiers have gone through that. Whatever the reasons that provoked it, they don't deserve a weeping girl."

Elsa slowly nodded and stopped sobbing. "You are right. Crying won't solve anything." She replied, wiping away her tears. She raised and took a deep breath.

François raised his eyebrows in surprise, Elsa seemed as poised and self-controlled as ever, only a faint reddening of her eyes betrayed her previous tears. Elsa looked him in the eye. "Thank you." She just said.

François nodded, obviously uneasy. "Your grenadiers will guard you here until Rolf sends an appropriate guard to..."

Elsa shook her head. "No!" She just said and started to walk towards the fence. "Send a messenger to warn Kristoff that we have won. And to inform me of my sister's state." She passed through the breach that her ice had done on the fence, the same place where she had raised the bastion hours before. She tried not to see the stains of blood that spotted the ice at that point and stained the lower edge of her dress.

"Go with the Queen! Protect her!" François ordered to the Grenadiers.

Elsa crossed the gully in front of the fence were the Southern Isles' sappers had paid a deadly price to approach to the bastion and the open space between the fence and the place where the square had been formed. The ground was littered with the corpses of Southern Isles' light infantrymen and Arendelle's soldiers who had fought to death to control that small piece of ground.

It was worse where the square had stood, the Southern Isles soldiers, dead and wounded, were piled one on top of the other, keeping their position in the formation where the shrapnel had cut them down. Guntlaf and his cuirassiers were in the center of the square, once it had collapsed, they hadn't been able to pursue the fleeing soldiers. Men and horses were exhausted and had stopped their furious charge.

The flanks of the horses were covered with white foam and their muscles trembled. The riders clumsy stumbled around trying to help their wounded comrades. Some of the cuirassiers guarded a group of Southern Isles' soldiers. Elsa noticed that one of the prisoners wore the uniform of a Lieutenant Colonel. _He is the leader of the battalion. _She thought, beholding the officer who kept a strange calm in the middle of what had been his battalion.

The Eastmark cuirassiers looked in astonishment at Elsa. They had been told about the Northern Witch who ruled Arendelle. According to the Southern Isles' version, she kept her subjects subjugated by the menace of her powers and they had seen the corpses of the Southern Isles' army killed by the snow storm which littered the path from the South. Now they gazed at the slender figure of fragile appearance who walked among them. They couldn't help looking at the stains of blood around the lower hedge of her dress and the great hill of ice behind her.

"Lieutenant!" Elsa said to an Arendelle's officer who was coordinating a squad to collect the wounded."Take care also of the Southern Isles wounded. Send a message to Gudvard to prioritize the serious injuries without taking into account the nationality of the wounded.

"There are too many wounded! We cannot collect everybody." A voice said behind Elsa who turned to find a tall and hefty Eastmark cuirassier with the stripes of Captain.

"I guess you are Guntlaf." Elsa said, remembering Rolf's explanations about the Eastmark's cuirassier unit.

"I'm Guntlaf, commander of Eastmark's cuirassiers." Guntlaf replied. He had heard the same stories about her than his men and couldn't help feeling uneasy. The fact that she knew his name didn't calm his fears, quite the contrary.

"The support of your men has been invaluable and Arendelle will not forget, but the battle is finished and the night is coming. If we left wounded men on the battlefield, many of them would die of exposure." Elsa went on.

Guntlaf looked in surprise at the young Queen. After the desperate charge and the furious combat, he couldn't help sharing the blood-lust which had possessed his men during the combat, but the Queen of Arendelle's words had the surprising effect of calming him down. Usually he would have judged them as naive, but something in Elsa's demeanor made them very effective. "I understand your feelings and they honor you, but as you said, the night is coming and we don't have men enough to take care of all the wounded."

Elsa looked around her and saw that he was right. Her men and the cuirassiers weren't enough to collect all the wounded.

"I'm sorry." Guntlaf said with a courtesy which surprised his men around and even himself.

But Elsa had already turned on her heels and approached to the group of seated Southern Isles' soldiers who were guarded by cuirassiers. She stood in front of their leader who raised when the Queen approached. The men around him quickly moved away without getting up.

"What's your name officer?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Akselsen at your command." The man formally replied.

"Lieutenant Colonel Akselsen, if I allow your men to collect the wounded, will you give your word that none of them will try to escape?"

"They won't until all the wounded are out of the battlefield. I give my word upon my honor and my life" The officer vehemently replied. "I also take responsibility for the soldiers from other battalions who have been taken prisoners. We will need them if we have to recover all our... all the wounded." The officer finally corrected himself.

Elsa nodded. "Lieutenant." She said to the Arendelle's officer. "Organize the Southern Isles prisoners in groups to help us to collect the wounded.

"We don't have tents for all the wounded." The lieutenant replied.

Elsa pointed towards a hill behind the fence, near Arendelle's encampment. "Install them there. Later I will create an ice roof to protect them." Elsa replied, inwardly trembling at the effort she would have to do to create it after the efforts of the day.

The Lieutenant nodded and started to assign Arendelle's soldiers to control Southern Isles' prisoners groups.

"Are you going to trust them? Some of them will escape, that's for sure." Guntlaf said.

Elsa nodded. "But the wounded will be protected and removed from the field."

The cuirassiers, knowing that Guntlaf's hate for the Southern Isles came out from the death of his father at the Red Lancers hands, expected an explosion, but they were again surprised. "Are you sure of that? Do you trust in this Southern Isles' scum to treat well our wounded?" Guntlaf calmly said. He found intolerable the idea of releasing the Southern Isles soldiers, but something in Elsa's eyes made impossible for Guntlaf to send her to hell. He was sure to have seen that look before, but he wasn't unable to remember when.

The Lieutenant Colonel who had led the last resistance of the square seemed about to talk, but Elsa stopped him with a wave of her hand. "Any soldier who mistreat a wounded will be hanged. Regardless of the nationality of the wounded or the soldier. Do I make myself perfectly clear?" Elsa said, looking Guntlaf in the eye.

To the cuirassiers' surprise, the veteran soldier slowly bowed his head. "At your orders Queen Elsa."

"Thank you Captain. Please ask my officers whatever thing you or your men need. Tonight I will meet with my officers to discuss our plans. I would like you to join us with one of your aides."

Guntlaf vowed again in silence.

"Where are the Dragoons?" Elsa asked the Arendelle's officer. "Weren't they with the cuirassiers?"

"I don't believe that it is a good idea." François replied.

Elsa was about to reply, but Guntlaf spoke first. "They were there, last time I saw them." He said, pointing towards a small elevation at the South.

The cuirassier's eyes followed her as she walked away towards the South. He had finally realized that the sad look in Elsa's eyes was the same that he had seen his on his mother's face the day she had received the news about the death of his father, speared like a wild animal by the Red Lancers.

"We must obey her orders and release the Southern Isles prisoners, including the Lieutenant Colonel?" One sergeant of Eastmark's cuirassiers asked.

Guntlaf looked at him for a long while before answering. "Of course we will, stupid! And I will kill with my own hands anyone of my men who mistreat a prisoner."

.


	87. The Dragoons

The grenadiers deployed around Elsa looking with suspicion at the groups of Southern Isles soldiers scattered in the valley. They had dropped their weapons and surrendered. The weakened companies which were pursuing the enemy had only left a few soldiers, some of them wounded, guarding them.

"This is too dangerous. We should return to the encampment." François, who walked by the Queen, said.

"Today is a dangerous day." Elsa replied with her eyes fixed in the point where Guntlaf had seen the Dragoons. She could see a group of soldiers there.

When they approached one of the grenadiers couldn't help gasping. "Queen Elsa, you shouldn't be here!" François said.

"There are only dead men and I have seen a lot of them today." Elsa said, but her voice slightly trembled.

They were reaching the point where the Dragoons had clashed with the Hussars in their frenzied charge. Elsa saw a group of unmounted Dragoons and Cuirassiers who were gathering the wounded. She approached them working her way through a terrain littered with wounded or dead, horses, Dragoons, Hussars and Cuirassiers who had joined the fight.

Elsa couldn't help looking at the face of each Arendelle's cavarlyman she passed by. When she reached the group of men, she saw with dismay that there were only troopers. When the cavalrymen noticed that the Queen was in front of them, some stopped their work and saluted. "Please, go on." Elsa replied. "Taking care of the wounded is the most important task now. We will send you help for the wounded as soon as possible."

"Your men fought really well here." A lieutenant of Cuirassiers with his right arm in a makeshift sling who was among the Dragoons said. "They charged against the Hussars, which doubled them, and pinned them here."

Elsa looked at the young men. He was a handsome blond man with fair blue eyes which seemed uneasy when he suddenly realized that he was talking with the Snow Queen, the witch who had frozen to death half Southern Isles' army.

"Why are you here? Your squadron fought at the other side of the battle." Elsa asked the lieutenant.

"I saw the Southern Isles' cavalry surrounding the Dragoons' center and I went with my men to help them."

"How many men did you have under your control?"

"At that moment!" The lieutenant shook his head as if it was impossible to know. "They were scattered across the battlefield. Maybe ten at the most."

"I see that not only my Dragoons were brave." Elsa replied.

The Cuirassier seemed to relax after Elsa's words. "We just contained the enemy. Two sections of your cavalry hadn't been encircled by the Hussars and were trying to help their trapped comrades. They fought their way like devils. The horse of one of the officers, a tall and hefty man, was killed and the man had to fight on foot. The Hussars attacked him, thinking that being dismounted he would be an easy prey." The man shook his head with a smile on his lips. "They couldn't have been more wrong. When he had killed five mounted enemies, they changed their mind and avoided him."

"Who was the other officer out of the encirclement." Elsa asked concealing her interest.

"I don't know his name. He was a not very tall and wiry man, but an outstanding rider. He seemed a centaur instead of a man over a horse. He just moved from one side of the fight to the other, searching a weak point to break the line. The enemy riders tried to block him, but he always avoided to get engaged in combat and the men in his path fell like grain under a scythe." The lieutenant shook his head. "But they were too few and the Hussars too many."

"And where are those officers now?" Elsa asked, barely concealing her anxiety.

The Cuiriassier pointed towards a nearby elevation of the terrain. "When Arendelle's infantry reached this place, commanded by their own commander in chief, the Hussars finally fled, and the infantry charged with the few remaining Dragoons and some of my men towards the Hussars colors behind that hill. There's the last place where they had seen their surrounded comrades."

"Was Rolf here?" Elsa asked in surprise.

The lieutenant nodded. "Yes. He charged with an infantry company across the eastern flank. But when they arrived, it was too late for your surrounded men."

Elsa left the lieutenant and, followed by François and the grenadiers, climbed the little elevation to reveal a terrible sight. The center of the Dragoons had been surrounded in that point and they have been exterminated in their fierce fight against the Hussars protecting their colors.

"Why Heinst made that? He was an experienced officer." Elsa asked in astonishment.

"He made that because he was an experienced officer." François replied. "They had to stop the Hussars to allow the Cuirassiers to charge and paid the price for our victory. Allowing the enemy to surround him, he ensured that they wouldn't attack the Cuirassiers."

Three Dragoons were recovering the wounded. Elsa saw that Heinst and Harald laid apart on the ground one beside the other. Heinst had his chest covered in blood a great gash on Harald's forefront had covered the face of the dead young officer with blood.

Elsa noticed Heinst's hands were crossed over his chest holding the pommel of his sword like a medieval grave. _Reinhard made that._ Elsa thought. He remembered that the young lieutenant was one of the few boys who occasionally visited Arendelle's castle when they were kids. In that few occasions, Elsa secretly saw Anna and him, playing to be knights. _Reinhard always liked knight's stories. _

Reinhard was one of the three men helping the wounded. His right arm was bandaged with a tore shirt and Elsa noticed that he only used his left arm. He looked in astonishment at the Queen when he realized her presence. "Queen Elsa what are you doing here? You cannot be here. This place is dangerous!"

"You are wounded."Elsa just replied, looking at the Dragoon's right arm.

Reinhard shook his head. "It's just a scratch, but I will have the arm of the sword useless for a few days."

_The arm of the sword. _Elsa couldn't help feeling a great sadness by Reinhard's words. "Heinst and Harald are dead. I'm sorry for your loss." Elsa said, referring to Heinst, Reinhard's uncle.

Reinhard nodded. "Both were good men and officers. They stopped the Hussars charge. I don't know if my uncle really tried to catch the colors of the Hussars or he just wanted to block them. Anyway his decision stopped a squadron of Hussars who doubled us."

"The price has been so high." Elsa replied looking at the dead calvarymen around her. At that moment one of Reinhard's men found a wounded Dragoon who was unconscious with his leg trapped under the carcass of his horse. The man called some grenadiers to help him free the unconscious trooper from the trap of his dead horse.

Reinhard looked at the grenadiers who tried to move the dead carcass. "We tried to rescue them, but there were too many Hussars. In fact, we would have been also annihilated, if the Cuirassiers hadn't arrived. They charged against the Hussars rear and although many of them died in the subsequent fight, that gave us time to regroup our sections and fight back."

"You did it really well." Elsa said.

Reinhard shrugged. "Anyway we didn't manage to reach them until Rolf and his men joined us, but then it was too late." The Dragoon looked towards both dead officers lying on the ground. "They were the ones who did it really well."

Elsa silently nodded. "Where is the other officer? The Imperial, Captain Simonyi?" Elsa asked, trying to feign indifference. "Is he with the wounded?"

Reinhard shook his head and looked around as if he was trying to remember the place where he had fallen. Elsa's heart sank and her legs trembled.

"He went in that direction." He finally said, pointing towards the South, with the surviving Dragoons and a group of Cuirassiers to give mounted support to Rolf's men. Rolf charged through the eastern flank with the reserve company, but his only cavalry was a few aide-de-camp, so a group of cavalrymen were invaluable to keep the pressure on the retreating Southern Isles' army. They used some spare horses from the mounted infantry and..." Reinhard stopped talking, surprised by the sudden look of relief on Elsa's face.

The young Queen tried to conceal her emotions, but she couldn't help showing her feelings for a brief moment.

Reinhard looked at her in silence for a long time. "You know." He finally said. "I always asked myself why Erick fought in this war. I see now that he had good reasons."

Elsa, her emotions under control again, saw that nobody but Reinhard had noticed her reaction. Some of the grenadiers were helping the Dragoons to recover their dead comrades. François and the others were busy watching around to prevent any possible attack. Elsa remembered that Anna had always said that Reinhard liked her since childhood, although he only had seen her in official ceremonies. Elsa's eyes met Reinhard's. She wanted to say something, but she didn't find the words.

"But you will marry Duke Adrian, his brother. Isn't it?" Reinhard asked in a low voice.

Elsa just nodded. She felt a strange oppression on her chest when she realized that, after Arendelle's victory, the pact agreed at the conference would be applied and she would be married with Duke Adrian Simonyi, Erick's step brother.

"I whish both of you the best." The officer whispered.

"Thank you." Elsa replied. "I will return to the encampment to organize the search for the wounded. I will send you help. Take care of the Southern Isles' soldiers too. We won't leave anybody in the field tonight."

"It's the first reasonable order I have heard during the entire day." Reinhard said and, after bowing, bent to help one of his men to drag a corpulent and heavy dead Cuirassier.

* * *

The desk was dimly illuminated by the lamp and Count Valsroom couldn't clearly see the lines on the map, but he didn't need to see them. The map displayed Eastmark and the Southern Isles' provinces which surrounded it. He knew the terrain by heart. He had studied it a lot of times during the Southern Isles' army maneuvers, getting ready for what had finally happened. And now, he was using all his skill to devise a plan to smash Eastmark's rebellion.

He was alone in his tent by a thicket of firs. The retreating Southern Isles army had reached that place after a dire march harassed by Arendelle's and Eastmark cavalry. _Guntlaf will pay for what happened today._ The Count thought, but he stopped thinking about the battle and centered his attention again on the map. _First Eastmark, I will settle scores with the Snow Witch later._ He inwardly said.

Thinking about the campaign against Eastmark was a good method to the disaster against Arendelle out of his minf. The flower of his army has been decimated by that crazy charge of the Cuirassiers. Even worse, the Red Lancers had been annihilated or captured. They were his best and most loyal squadron of cavalry, now he only could rely on the Westergard's Cuirassiers, but there was no news from them. _Bakken__, where the hell are you?_ His thoughts were interrupted by the servant who returned with another lamp to illuminate the room.

"Put the light on the desk and leave me alone. " Valsroom said not even turning to look at the man who had entered the room.

But nobody answered nor left a lamp on the table. Valsroom slowly raised his eyes from the map and turned to face Hans and some officers who had entered into the tent.

"What are you do..." Valsroom said, moving his hand towards the sword on a nearby chair. But two men jumped on him and pushed him over the desk.

"Are you crazy! Let go of me! It's an order!" Valsroom shouted.

"My dear Count, the time of your power has passed. You cannot menace as before." Hans said. His voice was friendly and he had a broad smile on his face. "Your decisions have brought the disaster on us. I fear that my duty as King forces me to relieve you of your responsibilities ."

"Have you forgotten that you insisted on keep marching towards the North?" Valsroom replied.

"But you planned the battle. I'm sure that my loyal companions will agree with me that this fact invalidates you as commander of the army."

Valsroom noticed at that moment that the officers with Hans were all men who had been removed from their positions when he had seized power a few weeks ago. They had been kept in the army in minor positions because Hans had pleaded for them.

"Do you believe that these puppets will control the army for you? My men will crucify you and whoever helps you!"

"A lot of your men are dead, my dear Count. Don't worry, I assure you that when this army reaches the Southern Isles, there will be very few of your men in it. We will need to make a lot of rearguard actions to protect our retreat and that means a lot of casualties."

"You will pay for that!"

"Anyway you won't see it." Hans replied with calm voice.

"Are you going to kill me? You won't dare."

"Of course I won't kill you, but I'm sorry to say that you will commit suicide. The remorse for the defeat will be too much for a man like you."

Valsroom couldn't avert his eyes from the friendly smile on Hanss' face as if he was a little rabbit hypnotized by the eyes of a serpent.

* * *

Torches placed in cavities of the pillars illuminated the room. The ice glittered and made beautiful light designs on the sides of the columns which sustained a great circular vault over the heads of the wounded. It was a beautiful sight, but Kristoff was taken aback by the stench from more than two hundred wounded men in the same closed space.

There were men from Arendelle, the Southern Isles and Eastmark all together in the same place. The seriously injured had been installed in Arendelle's encampment where Gudvard and his men could take care of them. Only the slightly injured soldiers were in Elsa's construction.

There was a continuous buzz of moans and groans. Kristoff saw an Infantryman from Arendelle with both legs broken, stretched on a litter. _If they are the slightly injured what's the state of the men in Gudvard's hospital_. _But at least they have a shelter_. He thought looking at the ice vault over his head.

Elsa had been about to fade making it and needed help from Kristoff to return to her tent to rest by Anna. Although Elsa hadn't gone to sleep until she had been informed that Erick had finally returned with the last group of men who had been harassing the Southern Isles' rearguard who tried to protect the retreat of its army. Now both sisters slept together in the same tent.

_They deserve some rest_. The mountain man thought as he searched around him. He noticed that the men from Arendelle, Eastmark and the Southern Isles talked as if they were fellow compatriots and they hadn't been killing each other a few hours ago. Many of the men looked in fear at the ice roof over them and Kristoff had been told that some of them had rejected to sleep under a creation of sorcery.

He located a group of men with red uniforms. A lot of Red Lancers had been captured in the encampment and few of them were unscathed. They had fought like devils trying to join their routed army. Among the red clad Uhlans, Kristoff could see some men clad in yellow and blue. A few Hussars had also been captured.

When he approached, the men stopped talking and looked at him and Kristoff noticed that they had been talking with a group of Cuirassiers and Dragoons, but no infantryman from any country was present in the group. He checked the face of the Hussars, but he didn't recognize any of them, although he noticed that one of the Red Lancers who had menaced him in front of Anna's tent was among the group.

"What do you want sir?" One of the Uhlans asked, obviously surprised by the apparition of a supposed officer clad in Arendelle's dress uniform.

"I'm looking for a friend. Is any other Hussar from Westergard here?" Kristoff had asked the same in the place where the prisoners were held and in Gudvard's field hospital, but he hadn't found the man he was looking for.

The Red Lancer shook his head, but one of the Hussars spoke. "One of us is there." He said pointing to one corner of the room.

Kristoff thanked him and went where the man had indicated. When he approached to the corner, he noticed that the men in that zone were apart from the others. Not only the slightly injured had been transferred into Elsa's ice building. The fatally wounded, who couldn't be healed, were also there. They were stretched on makeshift litters most of them too weak to moan. The lucky ones had a friend or comrade at their side.

The mountain man easily found the uniform of the Hussar and immediately realized that he had found whom he was looking for. He was a corporal with thick moustache and long sideburns, stretched on a litter with his abdomen covered with a blanket. He was pale and shivered as if he was cold, but his forefront was covered with sweat. Another Hussar, a trooper, was seated on the ground at his side.

Kristoff stood by the two Hussars and the lying man looked at him in surprise. "You weren't a faithful husband at the end." He said with a faint voice, looking at Kristoff's dress uniform.

Kristoff shook his head. The Hussar in the litter was the corporal who had led the patrol which had intercepted him and Elsa in their return to Arendelle's army whose doubts about killing the Queen had saved her life. And the words he had said were a continuation of the last phrase he had said to Kristoff. _I don't know if you are a loving husband or a loyal servant. In any case you played very well your cards._

"You are right. I am not a husband and she was the Queen of Arendelle." Kristoff replied.

The man winced. "Poor Karl. He was the man who wanted to finish her off and was killed by one of your Dragoon's bolts. He was right and the dead of the women in that town was useless because of my fault."

"Their dead was useless from the beginning." Kristoff replied.

"Would today's outcome have been the same if your Queen had died a few days ago?" The Hussar nonchalantly replied as if he was talking about the weather. "There were also women in the Southern Isles' army and a lot of them died due to the snow storm."

Kristoff shook his head. "I see your point of view, but I don't agree with you. Your army was attacking us."

The man smiled. "I'm not blaming your Queen on anything. I would have done the same, If I had had her powers. It was a cruel order, but an order is an order and war sometimes is cruel."

"Anyway I think you were right not accepting it." Kristoff said.

"I see your point of view, but I don't agree with you." The Hussar replied with irony. "Anyway it is water under the bridge. Why you have come here?"

"I just wanted to find you. I supposed that you could have been taken prisoner and I wanted to ensure that you were well treated. I'm sorry for your wounds"

"I tried to stop a Dragoon's officer who was trying to break our encirclement. He was a wiry and skilful man armed with a saber instead than a straight sword. He is the best rider I have ever seen. He had cut down some of my men hitting them in the face and when I faced him, he confused me with a feint to my head which he unexpectedly changed to a slash to my belly."

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

The man shook his head. "It's too late for me, but maybe you can tell the Queen not to be too hard with the captured Hussars. I fear that she wants revenge on us for what we did to those women, although I have to recognize that she has good reason to do so."

"She won't take any revenge on the Hussars or any soldier from the Southern Isles. She is fed up with blood."

"She has shed enough blood to be fed up with it." The Hussar seated by the Corporal said.

Kristoff realized at that moment that the Hussar by the litter was one of the troopers who had formed the patrol which had intercepted Elsa and he. He was about to reply, but the Corporal was quicker. "She had good reasons to shed it. If somebody told you that war is a nice business, he lied to you."

The Corporal turned his face to talk to Kristoff. "Excuse him. After a battle, it is difficult to keep a cool head."

"It doesn't seem difficult for you." Kristoff said.

"I'm half out of this world. I don't care for these things now. Please sit by me. I think that a talk with you will be very interesting. Don't worry if you have an appointment tonight. I won't take too much of your time." The Corporal said the last words with a hint of irony in his voice.

"Of course I will." Kristoff answered, sitting by the litter.


	88. Brothers

_It is good to be out of Arendelle._ Kurt Von Schradder thought as he finished his sketch. He was seated on the slope of a gentle hill, looking at a high cliff in front of him. Usually it would have been an easy picture, but the light of the setting sun changed continuously the shadows on the surface of stone. So the young Prussian was in a race against the growing darkness to complete his work. He added a last detail in his notebook and decided that it was finished.

Kurt left his pencil in a little case behind him and looked towards the South, towards Arendelle. He had left the castle that very morning crossing the controls of the Northern Barons who were besieging it.

Both Barons, Ebbe and Clarence had disembarked their soldiers a week ago and seized the control of the village. They had initially feigned to be on their way to join Arendelle's army in the South, hoping to take the castle by surprise. But due to Kurt's intervention, Corrado was aware of their intentions, so Ebbe and Clarence had found the gate closed and the walls manned by the small garrison.

The last week had passed in a strange way. Both sides feigned that nothing had happened. But everybody knew that the castle was under siege. Ebbe and Clarence had met with Kai and Corrado, trying to convince them to surrender the castle. But both men had been adamant and refused to open the gates to the Northern soldiers, much to the Barons fury.

The foreign diplomats had been allowed to leave the castle and move through Arendelle's streets at will since everybody wanted to keep good relations with them, but it was an unpleasant situation anyway. The townsfolk were afraid. Being invaded by their own soldiers was hard enough, but the unnatural snow storm which had covered Arendelle with a thin layer of snow had reminded everybody the freezing temperatures of the previous year.

So people had sought protection in Bishop Bodo, the only relevant person who wasn't confined in the castle, and the church was usually full of people praying. Kurt had been told that the Bishop openly talked against the Queen and her evil sorcery during mass.

Inside the castle, the atmosphere was even worse. Kai and Corrado feigned that everything would be solved by the return of the Queen and the army, but everybody knew it was very likely that the army that reached Arendelle would be led by the King of the Southern Isles and both men had had problems keeping calm the people inside the castle. So Kurt couldn't help to be grateful for being out of Arendelle and get rid of its strained atmosphere.

He heard steps behind him. Otto, his elder brother, clad in his white uniform of the Prussian Garde du Corps, was coming from the encampment behind the hill. Both brothers, with only one servant as retinue, were in their way to the North and Otto, who had some experience moving in the wilderness due to his participation in some campaigns, had taken command of the group.

"Have you finished your masterpiece? The supper is ready and Karl's work will be wasted if we eat it cold." Otto said in a cheerful mood. He seemed happy of being outside Arendelle with a trusted servant as only company.

"Are you going to explain to me why we are here?" Kurt asked when his brother was at his side.

"I don't understand you." Otto replied. He had a mocking smile on his face, but his eyes were suddenly cold. "A mission like this should delight you. Don't you want to take samples of the plants in that zone? According to Arendelle's townsfolk descriptions there are flowers that you can't find in any other place."

"I know better than you the descriptions about those plants. I gathered that information and talked about it with our uncle, but I don't believe that he has suddenly developed an interest in botanical issues. I won't buy that he has requested us to leave Arendelle for five days just to fetch some samples of the vegetation in that zone when Arendelle's army is fighting against the Southern Isles."

"Why not? Our task is done and we are only waiting for the English and the Imperial to finally solve what they will do with the Queen of Arendelle. Duke Adrian Simonyi is really stupid if he doesn't realize that there is a difficult long way to get into the Queen's bed."

Kurt frowned at his brother words. The Queen of Arendelle had been able, against all odds, to force the delegates from the great European powers to accept a pact that excluded her sister from being married and preserved Arendelle's independence from external interferences. But the sudden retreat of the claim of the Lithuanian Prince Vladimiras had unexpectedly given Elsa's hand to the Imperial candidate and none of the main powers England or France was really satisfied with the final agreement which bound Elsa with one of the great powers.

Kurt was tempted to ask Otto if he knew any detail about the plans of Lord Halkett or Christian Mullon. He was sure that the English and French delegates wouldn't allow the Queen of Arendelle to get her way so easily. Only the war against the Southern Isles had postponed any reaction. But the young Prussian refrained his impulse and insisted on his initial question. "Why are we here? I didn't believe our uncle's explanations and I tried to get more information from him, but he avoided any question."

"Then you should ask him again when we return." Otto replied.

Both brothers looked at each other's eye for a long time in silence. Kurt could see a hint of mockery in Otto's smile. "Well, then I will return tomorrow to Arendelle, so I can ask uncle Friedrich why he wants us out of Arendelle."

"We have received orders to go to the North." Otto emphatically replied.

"I will return tomorrow." Kurt defiantly replied when he saw that Otto's mockery had disappeared.

"Stay here with your plants. Believe me, you will be happier."

"Must I ask Karl to saddle my horse tomorrow morning during our breakfast?" Kurt just replied.

Otto sighed, giving finally up, although he seemed more relieved than angry. "It would be dangerous. Uncle Friedrich wants us out of Arendelle because he fears for our lives. That's why he said that stupid excuse to keep us out."

"Danger? If there is a danger in Arendelle for us it could also affect him, why he has remained there?"

"Dealing with Arendelle's affairs was a personal request of the King of Prussia. He must remain there whatever the danger. He knows what to do when he receives an order, but he wanted to protect you and me."

Kurt's noticed a hint of bitterness in Otto's last words. He could tell that his brother wasn't pleased with the current situation.

"He believes that the Southern Isles' conquest of Arendelle will be so violent that even the foreign diplomats will be in danger?"

Otto smiled at Kurt's words. "That doesn't seem likely to happen. A message from Arendelle's army was received two days ago. They have obtained a crushing victory over the Southern Isles' army."

Kurt looked in astonishment at Otto. "Are you serious? Has Queen Elsa used her powers against the Southern Isles army?" He wasn't able to find another explanation for an Arendelle's victory.

Otto shook her head. "The Queen of Arendelle knows that using her powers directly against soldiers would increase the fear of the other countries towards her. According to the message she sent, they got Eastmark's support to win the battle."

"Eastmark!" Kurt exclaimed, not able to hide his happiness for the unexpected news. "But why Kai and Corrado didn't chime the bells and proclaim the victory? The Barons siege would come to an end immediately"

"Because they don't know it. The courier was intercepted by Clarence's men and its contents communicated to Lord Halkett. He passed the information to our uncle as a courtesy with a loyal ally."

"Then why uncle Friedrich wants us out of Arendelle? If the war is over, there is no danger in Arendelle."

"Our uncle fears something similar to the Imperial massacre in Westergard. There an angry mob attacked any foreigner they found regardless of their origin, so he wants us away."

Kurt shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. Maybe some people will be angry because they had lost beloved ones during the war, but Queen Elsa will avoid attacks against foreign diplomats. Anyway after a victory, people is happy not angry."

"But they may be angry after the death of the Queen." Otto replied.

"What are you talking about? Has Elsa died during the battle?" Kurt quickly asked.

"No, but she won't live enough to enjoy the sweet taste of victory and our uncle fears that there could be trouble in Arendelle."

"What is our uncle planning?"

"Our uncle isn't planning anything. He only wants to return to Prussia and forget this little country. Lord Halkett is behind it."

"Behind what?"

"Stephan, Hans' brother, disembarked from the English frigate and had a meeting with the two Northern Barons. They are preparing a very special reception for the Queen."

"The Queen will arrive at the front of her army. They won't have the slightest chance." Kurt replied.

"You are wrong. Arendelle's army is so badly mauled that they cannot even move. They don't have carts enough for the wounded and the few units able to fight should be pursuing the Southern Isles army to ensure that they keep running until the border. All the Queen's requests asking for supplies and transports had been ignored. The Barons control all the accesses to Arendelle and have intercepted all the messengers. Nobody in Arendelle knows what is happening, except a few selected ones."

"If they don't answer to Elsa's requests, she will discover that something is wrong and she will react."

"The Barons are stupid, but Stephan isn't. He has forged a letter from Kai explaining that Lord Halkett became enraged when she provoked the storm, took control of Arendelle using the royal marines in the frigate and put siege to the castle. According to the letter, the Englishman took the city in a fit of rage, but he is willing to negotiate a solution and wants to meet with the Queen, if they arrive to an agreement about the use of her powers"

"She wouldn't believe that. If Lord Halkett fears her powers, why he would meet her? He would fear what Elsa could do with him."

"I expected more from you! The Queen of Arendelle takes care of her people, everybody sees that. She would never do anything which could put them in danger. She could kill Lord Halkett and all the Englishmen in Arendelle in the blink of an eye, but then the royal navy, which controls all the seas around, would intercept the ships heading for Arendelle and that would be the end of everybody in Arendelle. They don't produce food enough to feed all the inhabitants. Lord Halkett knows it and that would justify why he agreed the met the Queen. The royal nave menacing power will protect him."

"But he won't really meet with Elsa."

"Officially he is even unaware of the existence of that letter. He will feign that everything was planned behind his back and put the blame on his minions."

"Really they will dare to kill a crowned Queen? The rest of European monarchies wouldn't like to see a Queen killed."

"Officially everybody will condemn it and feign to be deeply affected by the death of such a young Queen, but Lord Halkett will explain that the Barons acted moved by the fear that her powers would have annihilated Arendelle's people. So the Barons will receive a harsh rebuke, but nothing will be done against them."

"And everybody wants to kill a Queen who only wants to protect her people."

Otto shrugged. "She is too uncontrollable and has already used her powers against the Southern Isles' army with that snow storm. The Barons will present it as a proof that she was dangerous."

"She had no option but to defend herself and her country!" Kurt exclaimed.

Kurt's vehemence surprised Otto, but he quickly replied. "And they hadn't either. They fear what could happen to their own armies and they cannot depend on her good will. Everybody will be secretly pleased for her dead. The beautiful Queen Elsa will be killed and also her sister. So Arendelle's incident will be finished at last."

Kurt's eyes widened in surprise. "They want to kill Anna too?"

"Yes, Clarence is second in the line of succession to the throne after Anna. He will be the future King of Arendelle. There must be a bone for a faithful dog."

Kurt looked at Otto in astonishment. "They are really going to feign that they care for both sisters and allow Lord Halkett to kill them."

"Smoke in the offered hand and shit in the other. This is diplomacy and it will never change." Otto replied.

Kurt remained in silence for a long time before replying. "Even between brothers?"

Otto lowered his eyes and didn't reply.

Kurt went on. "Why didn't you tell me what was happening? Why did uncle Friedrich lie to me in such a blatant way?"

Otto looked at the great cliff in front of them, but the sun had already disappeared below the horizon and it was only possible to see a great shadow raising in front of them. "Uncle Friedrich noticed that you were too sympathetic to both sisters. He feared that you would provoke problems if you knew too much. I tried to convince him that in spite of your preferences regarding your bed companies you were a Von Schradder and you will stay on our side."

"Did you talk with him about that?" Kurt asked in surprise.

"He already knew it. He is a very keen man, but he doesn't care of your preferences as long as you keep it in secret."

"When did he become aware of it?"

"He reared us. I think that he noticed something from your childhood."

Kurt took a deep breath before going on. "So uncle Friedrich doesn't trust me."

"He only wanted to save you a nasty situation. But believe me, he trusts you. Both of us trust you. I'm sure that you wouldn't do anything against our family."

There was an implicit question in Otto's words, but Kurt didn't say anything, he just turned his face and feigned to look at the dark stone wall of the cliff in front of them.

* * *

"You can pass, Captain Simonyi." The Arendelle sergeant, who wore a bandage over his left eye, said as he saluted. The Imperial strode across the firs, seeing Arendelle's soldiers, some of them also with visible bandages, among the trees. _After the attempt against Elsa they are more cautious._ He thought as he reached the limit of the trees.

The small open space in the forest was one of the few places in the valley where the battlefield was out of sight. Anna was seated on a blanket over the ground. The Princess of Arendelle turned her head when she heard his steps on the leaf covered ground and a broad smile appeared on her face. "Erick!" She exclaimed, opening her arms.

Erick noticed two crutches at her side and that she didn't even try to raise, but he didn't say anything and just knelt at her side to embrace her.

"What has happened? Is there any problem?" Anna asked. Erick had been with the rest of the Arendelle forces pursuing the retreating Southern Isles army and he wasn't supposed to return until the army reached the southern borders.

"Rolf ordered me to return to Arendelle. Reinhard had already recovered from the wound in his right arm and I was no longer necessary to command the Dragoons. Being a member of the Imperial army, my death could be a diplomatic problem and Rolf didn't want to take the risk any longer."

Anna could help laughing at the obvious displeasure on Erick's face. "Don't be so angry. I'm very happy to see you."

Erick smiled at Anna's words. "But why is the army still in this valley?" I supposed that you would already be in Arendelle.

Anna's smile disappeared. "Lord Halkett took control of Arendelle and we haven't received any help to move the wounded. Almost all the horses and draft animals were sent with the army to facilitate the pursuing because we supposed that we would receive help from Arendelle. Even worse, we have few available men and they are overworking to take care of the wounded. We can't move them."

Erick's eyes widened in surprise. "Has Lord Halkett invaded Arendelle? Which soldiers did he use to take the castle?"

"The royal marines of the frigate."

"A frigate doesn't have enough royal marines to take Arendelle."

"Maybe he brought more soldiers than usual in the frigate. We received a letter from Kai saying that he and the two Northern Barons hold the castle, but the royal marines control the village. They have enough soldiers to drive the English soldiers out, but they want to avoid bloodshed. Lord Halkett launched the assault because he was afraid of Elsa's storm, but now he is willing to negotiate a retreat."

Erick nodded. Kai avoiding such an incident seemed sensible. "That's why Elsa isn't in the encampment."

Anna nodded. "The letter requests Elsa and me to return to Arendelle and negotiate with Lord Halkett a solution to this mess."

"But you are here."

"Yes." It was Anna's turn to show anger on her face. "Elsa didn't allow me to go to Arendelle. She said that I was too weak for such a travel and Kristoff supported her."

Anna said the last words as if she was talking about a terrible betrayal and Erick couldn't help laughing.

The Princess took a deep breath before going on. "At the end she departed with only two mounted infantrymen as escort. I only managed to convince her to allow Kristoff to go with her."

In that moment a courier from Gudvard, the royal doctor, entered in the open space among the firs. "You must return to your tent. Night is falling." He said.

Anna looked at the dim light of the setting sun and took her crutches at her side. Erick noticed at that moment that they were made of ice. "Did Elsa create them?"

Anna nodded and raised a hand towards Erick. The hussar helped her to get up and Anna started to slowly walk leaning on them. "Gudvard gave me two wooden ones, but they were too heavy and Elsa made these which were far lighter than the others. Elsa made a lot of them for the wounded."

"Has she recovered from her effort?" Erick asked, remembering Elsa's exhaustion after the battle.

"She forced herself too much. Using her powers is still painful, but she was delighted to use them to help Gudvard." Suddenly she stumbled over a root and only Erick's quick reaction averted her fall.

"Thank you." Anna said. "I can move inside my tent without them, but for greater distances I still need something to lean on."

"How long will you need them?" Erick replied letting go her arm.

Anna tried to shrug, but it was difficult with a crutch under each arm. "I don't know. Gudvard avoids my questions about the issue. I guess that he doesn't even know if I will walk without them again." A brave smile appeared on Anna's face, but I'm sure that I will get rid of them before my first visit to Vienna to see Elsa and you."

"I'm sure of that." Erick replied.

Anna moved very slowly and it took some time, but they finally reached the encampment. All the tents were full of wounded soldiers and Gudvard's men taking care of them. Only the seriously wounded were into the encampment, but the place was crammed anyway.

"This place wasn't so crammed after the battle."

Anna winced at his words. "We don't have people nor material enough to take care of the wounded and some who were initially assigned to the ice shelter have got worse and transferred here."

"Now I understand why Elsa accepted to meet with Lord Halkett." Erick replied.

"If she doesn't get help from Arendelle we will have a real problem here. But I suppose that, after the Southern Isles defeat, she would be able to convince Lord Halkett."

"I'm sure of that. Tomorrow I will depart to Arendelle."

"Do you believe that my sister will need your help?"

Erick shook his head. "I'm not so stupid to believe that. Diplomacy is your sister's game and nobody is better suited for that work, but I want to meet with the Imperial delegation."

Anna stopped and looked into Erick's eyes as if she tried to read his thoughts. "I didn't mean that. You don't trust Halkett. You think Elsa is in danger. Don't you?"

"This is not the reason." Erick lied. "I recognize that I also want to see Elsa. I will try to catch her before she reaches Arendelle."

Anna sighed as if she hadn't any other option than accepting Erick's words although neither the Imperial nor she really believed them. "You won't make it. Elsa departed this morning and tomorrow evening they will reach Arendelle."

* * *

"Kurt, what the hell are you doing?"

Kurt Von Schradder stopped fastening the straps of his saddle and slowly turned to face his brother. Otto, only wearing his trousers, was in front of him holding a lamp in his left hand and his long cuirassier sword in the right.

It was six o'clock in the morning and it was still dark. Kurt had silently left his tent few minutes before to saddle his horse, hoping that Otto, who was sleeping in another tent, wouldn't hear him. But silently moving a horse in the middle of the night wasn't an easy task.

"I'm going to warn the Queen of Arendelle." Kurt just replied trying to control his horse.

Otto looked in astonishment at his younger brother. "Are you crazy? Lord Halkett will crush us if you do that!"

"Lord Halkett is an English Lord and we are from Prussia, we don't depend on him."

"Our uncle and I have been doing his diplomatic dirty work during the entire conference to get privileges in London's harbor. All this will be useless, let alone that Lord Halkett is a dangerous man to have as enemy."

"I will take the blame if I'm discovered. Tell uncle Friedrich that he can repudiate me in order to avoid the Englishman's reprisals."

Otto looked at Kurt in confusion. "So important is she for you?" Suddenly a smile appeared on Otto's face. "Unless..."

"She is more important for me than you believe, but not in the way you think."

"If you are not in love with her why are you going to risk everything for her."

"She discovered my tastes and didn't use it against me when she had very good reasons to do so, and only her goodness not to reveal my secret."

"We are in diplomacy, maybe she had a secret reason not to speak."

Kurt shook his head. "This is not the point. I feel that if I allow the world to crush her, I wouldn't be able to say any reason not to be crushed when my turn comes."

"You are a fool if you think that your good actions, past, present or future, will protect you."

"I'm not saying that I will be safe. I'm saying that I wouldn't be able to hold that the ones who crush me aren't right. If I allow her to be killed, I will transform the world in a place terrible and cruel."

Otto slowly shook his head, "Kurt, the world is a terrible and cruel place." He looked at his brother straight in the eye for a long time, but finally he heaved a sigh. Kurt could tell by the expression on his brother's face that he had finally made up his mind and that he didn't like what he had decided.

"What are you going to do?" Kurt asked.

"You behaving normally once if your life would have been too beautiful to be true." Otto stretched his right arm towards the reins of the horse, the light of the lamp on his left hand shimmered on his raised long sword.

Kurt knew that Otto was deadly skilled using it, but he quickly interposed himself between the horse and the raised blade. "Are you going to kill me with this . rather than allowing me to depart?"

Otto gazed in surprise the sword as if he realized in that moment that he was holding it and looked at his brother reproachfully. "Don't be stupid! You are my brother! Your horse is a nag and you wouldn't run fast with it. Use Karl's horse. It is better."

Before Kurt was able to reply, Otto took the reins and returned the horse where the other animals were sleeping. The younger brother stood in the middle of the darkness too surprised to react until Otto returned with two horses and clad in civil clothes.

"Where did you get those clothes?" Kurt asked.

"They should have been used if discretion was needed. And I think that we must be discreet in this issue."

"We?"

Otto threw the reins of Karl's horse at Kurt's face. "You aren't able to orient yourself in the middle of the plowed fields of our Silesian farmstead, let alone a Norwegian forest."

"But what about the pact with the English?" Kurt asked while Otto mounted his horse.

"Blood is thicker than ink. Now shut up and follow me before I change my mind. "Blood is thicker than ink. Now shut up and follow me before I change my mind. Let's see if you will be able to ride fast through a forest once in your life."


	89. The Mob

When Elsa saw Arendelle, she had mixed feelings. On one hand, it was her home and seeing the towers of the castle, after weeks not knowing if she would return, made her heart jump for joy; on the other hand it meant meeting Lord Halkett, Christian Mullon and Adrian Simonyi, her future husband.

Elsa couldn't help wincing when she thought of the rude and authoritarian Duke. Before departing from Arendelle, Elsa had accepted that she would be his wife for the sake of Anna and Arendelle, but now Erick would be at her side, and compared with him, Adrian seemed even more disgusting than before.

Elsa sighed. _He is not even loyal to the Empire._ She thought, remembering Erick's explanations about Adrian's maneuvers to obtain money from Imperial military funds because his Duchy was on bankruptcy.

He tried to cheer herself up. The information about Adrian would be very useful to control him. It would have been better if Erick had brought any proof of his stepbrother's misappropriation, but everything was lost during the Imperial massacre in Westergard. And the man who had the proofs, Giulio, Duke Berganza's personal secretary, had been killed during that ill-fated night.

Suddenly Elsa noticed that Kristoff was talking to her. She stopped daydreaming, she wouldn't get any proof against Adrian Simonyi's just thinking about it. "Excuse me Kristoff. I didn't hear you."

"There are the British soldiers. Do you see them?" The mountain man repeated, pointing towards the gate of the castle.

Elsa strained her eyes and noticed some tiny red figures. They could only be British soldiers besieging the castle.

* * *

Collin Halkett looked in surprise at the red clad soldiers. He was in his way from the frigate to the castle with Edward Elmer, one of the lieutenants of the frigate, when he saw the soldiers besieging the castle with red coats over their usual dark green uniform.

"Why do they wear those red clothes?" Collin asked in a loud voice.

"Maybe they expect cold weather. The summer is ending." The second officer replied.

"And must they be red?"

"Maybe they want to distinguish themselves from their comrades inside the castle during the storming of the castle." The lieutenant replied. "Everybody in the town has gone to the mass in the new harbor, maybe it is a trick of Clarence and Ebbe to avoid undesired observers during an assault."

Collin nodded. Everybody in Arendelle had left the town after their Bishop who suddenly had proclaimed that it was necessary a mass with the entire population of Arendelle in the new harbor.

They were already in the front of the gate and both British officers looked at the sergeant, also with a red coat over his shoulders, who was in charge of the gate. The man just saluted and allowed them to pass.

Elmer speed up. He had to meet with Allan Halkett to talk about the supplies needed to repair some slight damages in the frigate due to the Snow storm. He was late and Allan Halkett didn't like to wait.

Collin decided to go with the officer just to take the blame of the delay and they headed towards Allan's room, but they found the young Captain in one of the corridors.

"Captain Halkett, I bring the list of supplies to repair the ship." Elmer said.

Allan looked at his subordinate in surprise for a second until he remembered the meeting. "The supplies! Don't worry about that and return to the ship immediately. We will talk about it tomorrow." Allan went on his way, leaving both men in the corridor.

Collin thoughtfully looked at his nephew while he went away. Allan was a disciplinarian, but he had a very good memory. _Why he had forgotten the meeting. He is the typical officer who never forgets anything like that. _He thought_._

Finally the veteran Colonel shrugged and, after saying goodbye to Elmer, went on his way to find Friedrich von Schradder. He met every morning with the Prussian and they went for a short walk, Friedrich's gout in his right leg didn't allow him long strolls, and they used to sit on the piers to behold the ships and talk about their old campaigns.

He used to find Friedrich in the hall finishing his breakfast, but he saw the old prussian in one of the corridors.

"What are you doing here old walrus? Has somebody stolen your beer?" Collin cheerfully said.

A half-hearted smile curved the Prussian's lips. "Good morning old rascal. Today I cannot go with you to the pier. You should find somebody else to explain him false feats."

Collin shrugged. "Well, so I can walk more than just a few hundreds of meters. I will try to go to the new harbor, I want to see those long piers."

The smile disappeared from Schradder's lips and approached Collin. "I would remain in the castle." He said in a soft voice, almost a whisper.

"Why?" Collin replied in the same way.

"I can't tell you anything and I have to leave you. Please remain in the castle."

Collin remembered his nephew's rush. "Are you going to meet my brother?"

Friedrich just nodded. "He hasn't called me, but one of my servants warned me."

"He warned you about what?"

Friedrich slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry old friend, but I cannot explain you anything."

Collin nodded. "Just tell me where my brother is."

"On the balcony on the east side of the castle. But he won't like to see you now."

Collin nodded. "Don't worry and give me five minutes, so my brother won't see us arriving together."

"If you just walk at your normal pace, you will get in more than five minutes before me." The old Prussian replied pointing to his right foot which was totally bandaged.

Collin almost ran across the castle until he reached the east side. He found his brother Howard and his nephew looking towards the mountains to the South.

"What are you doing here?" Lord Howard Halkett said when he saw his younger brother.

"I'm also glad to see you." Collin replied.

"Allan and I are in a private conversation. Would you mind leaving us alone?" Lord Halkett replied.

But Collin Halkett's eyes had already located what his brother and nephew were looking at with such interest. In the path which went down the nearest slope of the mountains he saw a group of four small figures. Even at that distance his keen eyes were able to recognize the unmistakable glimmering blue dress of Arendelle's Queen.

* * *

"You can't leave us now!" Clarence, the Northern Baron exclaimed.

"You don't need me anymore. The trap is ready and I would be a nuisance. If anybody recognizes me, we're done ." Sthepan, Hans's brother, replied.

"He is right Clarence." Ebbe, the other Northern Baron, added.

Clarence sighed and looked towards the group of soldiers who were waiting for them in Arendelle's main square. He and Ebbe had been working with Stephan for one week preparing the trap to catch Queen Elsa, but just when one of the sentinels had returned warning that the Queen of Arendelle was approaching, Stephan had unexpectedly decided to flee. Clarence could see the small boat at the nearby pier waiting to return him to the frigate. "Maybe we can need you." He finally replied.

Stephan hid his ill temper. He had been an entire week preparing the trap for Elsa. He had been doing all the work and both Barons had just acted as if he was a kind of servant with some privileges. But the servant had finally decided not to wait to the end of the play because the initial plan was to kill Elsa during her return to Arendelle at the head of a defeated army not as the triumphant winner of a desperate battle.

Stephan was sure that Rolf would hang whoever dared to harm any of both sisters. After a defeat, his control of Arendelle's army would have been weak and Stephan had faith that they would have managed to replace him by Ebbe. But after a victory he would have complete control of the army and Stephan didn't want to suffer his revenge.

"Everything is in its place. Your men are in the church waiting for the Queen. If she enters there, she is doomed. And Bodo has gathered Arendelle's people in the new harbor to pray. They haven't received any news from the army in weeks, since we have avoided it, and everybody worries for the fate of the army. It will be easy for a man like Bodo to inflame their spirits with fear and hate for the Queen, who has put the nation in danger with her thoughtless acts."

"It's not so easy." Clarence replied.

"When the mob appears, send the Queen into the church. It is the logical place to take shelter. She and her escort will center their attention in the mob outside. Your men inside the church will catch them by surprise and once they are dead you can burn the building to the ground, put the blame on the mob, hang some of the town leaders and proclaim that you only tried to protect the sacred person of the Queen." Stephan calmly explained. _And you are really stupid if you believe that Rolf or Anna will buy that._

"According to the sentinel, Anna is not coming. She has remained with the army. I think that this fact invalidates the entire plan." Clarence replied.

_He is so stupid that he do__es__n't realize that the victory of Arendelle changed everything._ _His only worry is to kill both sisters._ "I understand your worries, but I don't think Lord Halkett would agree on that." Stephan replied with an understanding tone of voice.

"Do you think he will agree on your disappearance in the most critical moment?" Clarence retorted.

Stephan couldn't help nodding. Lord Halkett's reaction was the only factor against leaving, but he had decided to take the risk. Although the barons weren't very intelligent, the plan was easy enough to work even under their supervision. "He won't worry, if you finally finish Queen Elsa off." Stephan patted the Baron's shoulder. "And I am sure that you will do your best since neither of us wants to provoke Halkett's rage."

After saying that, Stephan turned on his heels and quickly strode towards the waiting boat.

"What you are saying is ridiculous Collin." Lord Howard Halkett calmly said. "I would like to say that such words coming from you surprise me, but they are typical of you much to our family's disgrace."

"Stop talking in elder brother style. You are planning something against the Queen of Arendelle." Collin Halkett replied.

"Why are you saying such nonsense? I'm here in the castle, whatever happens outside is Arendelle's internal affair."

"Some days ago Stephan, that poisonous snake, left the frigate and the same day that the Queen returns the Northern soldiers wore red jackets. Something is going on and I can recognize your hand in it."

Howard shrugged. "Stephan isn't my prisoner. He asked to be accepted in the frigate because he was frightened for his life. I don't know why he decided to leave the frigate, and truth to be told, it is not my business."

"Then why are you and Allan here like vultures watching their prey? Do you really think that anybody will believe this story?" Collin exclaimed.

Lord Halkett took a deep breath. "Collin you are so stupid as always. The story doesn't have to be convincing, it must be convenient. Its final outcome is the best for everybody and eliminates a possible menace for England." He sneered.

"Do your really believe that the parliament will accept it? You are going to act against a crowned Queen?"

"Success is always accepted. It will benefit England and that will silence criticisms."

"You mean that it will benefit your partners in the timber companies and specially you. This will make you rich!"

"This is just a collateral effect that nobody will take into account."

"This will bring shame upon England!"

Howard winced at Collins words. "You bring shame upon the uniform you wear!"

Collin stepped forward, approaching to his elder brother. "Measure your words! I have fought and bleed for England with this uniform!"

"The brave and gallant warrior who fights for England all around the globe form great pitched battles in the plains of India to the storming of harbors in South America!(*)" Howard sneered. "Don't you ever get tired of playing the perfect soldier?"

"You and your friends in London don't hesitate to take advantage of our victories to expand your commercial networks."

"Collin, you must stop thinking that we undeservedly take advantage of your feats. My London friends pay your toys and your flamboyant uniforms. We decide what wars are more convenient to us and then we send you."

"The army sustains your Empire!" Collin replied

"The army is just a piece in the imperial machine. You like to play the heroes, but you are just pawns of our commercial interests. All your campaigns, all your adventures are just the plans of a merchantman. You wear the epaulettes of a colonel, but you are no more than a pawn."

Collin was about to reply, but in this moment a small woman of fragile appearance walked into the balcony. She was in her middle thirties, long face and bright eyes, which looked in surprise at both brothers. "Collin, Howard what's happening here?" She asked in surprise,

Howard Halkett quickly recovered his composure. "Dear Sybill, Nothing's happening. Collin and I were talking about the army life and the interesting opportunities that it offers to England's young people to serve their country. But I think that we had just finished our conversation and Collin was about to leave us. Weren't you Collin?"

Collin Halkett was barely able to control himself and just nodded before turning on his heels and left the balcony followed by the small woman.

"Collin darling, what has your brother said to you? You seemed about to hit him." Sybill asked when they were in the corridor.

Collin turned to face the fragile figure of his wife. "I'm always an open book for you." He replied.

"It's true. And now I can read on you that you want to avoid my question." The woman replied with a broad smile on her face.

Collin raised his hands as if he was surrendering. "You should wear my Colonel epaulettes."

"You are right, but let's talk about Howard's words."

Collin sighed. "He said the truth. Sometimes some truths are too nasty and you just feign to ignore them, but he has faced me with one especially nasty. "

"He has faced you with the truth? Things are never simple and you and Howard are so different that I cannot imagine anything in which both of you have the same point of view."

"What if his point of view is much closer to the truth than mine?"

"Who can know it? Only god knows the truth, the rest of us must walk in the darkness and do what we think is correct. You and Howard will never have the same concept of what is correct." Sybill came closer to Collin and touched his cheek with her hand. "Thank god!"

Collin shrugged. "I suppose you are right."

"Why don't you go to the pier with Friedrich? He should be waiting for you."

Collin shook his head. "Friedrich is busy today. He cannot go with me."

"Then come with me. I was going to take a cup of tea."

Collin couldn't help smiling. Sybill was the elder daughter of a baronet near Brighton. Howard had described her as little more than a shopkeeper and unsuited to marry his younger brother, but remembering her taking tea in their little house in the regiment headquarters had helped him to keep Collin's mind clear even in the worst situations. "I want to walk on my own. But we could take tea when I return, would you mind ordering it?"

Sybill nodded and quickly went towards the rear part of the castle.

_So she won't see anything._ Collin thought as he approached one of the windows trying to see what was happening in the town. But the window wasn't oriented towards the mountains but to the piers.

Collin saw the figure of Stephan walking towards the boat. He noticed that the Southern Isles man was in the same pier where Elsa and Anna had seen Elias off. _She protected him._ Collin thought, remembering the young Grandee of Spain, retarded son of his dead friend Andres Gonzaga, who had saved Collin's life during the Peninsular war (**).

Collin felt the sudden desire to see what was happening in the town, but that implied that he should return to the balcony. The Colonel finally decided that he didn't want to be at his brother's side and quickly went away.

* * *

"Queen Elsa." Clarence said bowing.

The Queen of Arendelle looked at him askance from the saddle of her horse. They had been about to reach the village when Clarence and Ebbe had appeared among the houses to receive them. A section of Arendelle's northern soldiers went with them to act as escort.

"Lord Halkett is waiting for you in the church we have chosen that place as neutral ground."

"Where is Kai?" Elsa warily asked.

"His wound doesn't allow him to receive you, but he is also waiting with Lord Halkett." Clarence quickly said, remembering Stephan's detailed instructions. The Southern Isles' diplomat had been very meticulous, forecasting any possible detail which could alert Queen Elsa and make her not to enter the church where a group of soldiers waited to kill her.

"Is he wounded?" Elsa asked in surprise. "The letter didn't say anything about any wound." It was easy to see Elsa's concern for the seneschal.

"I suppose that he didn't want to worry you. It isn't a serious wound, but he cannot walk properly."

"Who wounded him?" Elsa asked.

"During the snow storm there was a disturbance in the castle. People were afraid and he tried to calm them, but he received a hit in the leg."

Clarence could tell that his words had affected Elsa. _The news that her powers had been the reason of her trusted Seneschal's wounds, will disturb the Queen and allow us to handle her as we want. _Stephan had said when they were planning everything and now Clarence knew that he was right.

"Where is the people? The streets are empty."

"When they knew that you were about to return, everybody sought shelter in the new harbor. They feared that you would bring the cold again." Clarence say, refraining a smile when Elsa winced.

_Stephan was a genius. _Clarence thought when he saw that the new indications from the Southern Isles' diplomat had worked. "Don't worry, they will see their error when you free them from the English. But please, now follow me my Queen. Kai and Lord Halkett are waiting for you."

Elsa nodded and started to slowly drive her horse towards the church. Both Barons walked at her side. Clarence gave sideways glances to the young lieutenant who led the men of the escort. They were a section of light infantry armed with heavy crossbows. He and Bodo had instructed the officer against the Queen. The section of soldiers would riddle her with arrows if anything went wrong.

* * *

Erick reached the top of the mountain pass and finally could see Arendelle illuminated by the setting sun in the fjord below. He had a great wound in his forefront and his face was covered with dry blood. White foam covered the flanks of his horse and the flanks of another unmounted horse, with its reins tied to his saddle, which followed them. Both animals were exhausted and tried to recover their breath when Erick stopped to observe what was happening in Arendelle.

Erick had been swapping from one saddle to the other, but the last leg of the ride to reach the top of the mountain pass which led to Arendelle had been especially hard for his mounts. They had climbed the steep and narrow mountain path at full gallop.

_My father wouldn't be pleased to see the state of these poor animals._ Erick thought. He was very sad that he had to force his mounts in such a brutal way. He had departed from the encampment of Arendelle's army early in the morning with three horses. Planning to go quick, swapping from one mount to the other, and reach Arendelle during the night. But he had met Kurt and Otto on the road.

After the initial surprise, Kurt, remembering Erick's defense of Anna against the assassins and his discretion about the meeting between him and a French cuirassier, had decided to trust the Imperial. Anyway, he didn't have any other option to help Queen Elsa since they were exhausted after their ride across the woods.

After that, Erick had started a frenzied race to reach Arendelle. He had lost one of his horses when the unfortunate animal had broken one of his legs in one hole on the uneven road. Erick had fallen with the horse, but he had just got a scratch on the head and bruises, so he had been able, after killing the wounded animal, to mount again and continue forward.

Erick searched through the maze of Arendelle's narrow streets, trying to recognize the tiny figures there. Many people were pouring into the town from the East side, they seemed to come from the new harbor and Erick had a bad feeling about them. He couldn't help remembering the night of the Imperial massacre when a mob like that had killed many Imperials.

He ignored the people and finally saw a group of soldiers clad in Arendelle's dark green uniform near the church and a blonde slender figure in blue dress riding among them. He dammed when he realized that the mob was getting closer to them.

He unfastened the reins of the second horse and jumped to its saddle. He examined the path which negotiated in hairpin curves the steep slope downwards and decided that it would take too much time. So he urged his horse in a gallop right down through the forest. Erick didn't know if he would be able to make it to Arendelle or he would break his neck, but what really worried him was that he knew that even through that way he wouldn't arrive on time.

* * *

"We must kill Queen Elsa right now. This is the moment." Ebbe, the northern Baron, whispered, his forefront was sweaty from tension.

Clarence gave a sideways glance to the Queen, who slowly rode at his side. "In the middle of Arendelle? So everybody will see our men killing her?" He replied.

Ebbe sighed. "But our men surround her. She wouldn't have the slightest opportunity. "

"After her death, we will have to give a lot of explanations. It will be difficult enough if we can blame the mob. Would you like to appear in front of everybody with a knife dripping blood? We will follow Stephan's plan, kill her inside the church and burn it to the ground, so nobody will discover what happened."

Ebbe seemed about to reply, but Clarence stopped him with a movement of his hand. He had realized that Kristoff, who was riding behind them, looked at them. _Luckily I have one of my men among the mob if anything goes wrong, he will kill the Queen and disappear. _Clarence thought, trying to calm himself. Ebbe's fear was infectious.

At that moment they heard shouts in front of them as if a lot of people was approaching.

"What's happening?" Kristoff asked.

"I don't know, but I don't like it." Clarence replied. "Hurry up! We will be safe in the church. The walls are thick and strong. We could take shelter there."

They had entered the small square in front of Arendelle's church and got down from their horses when the mob arrived.

Bodo had made a good work with them. Many families had a son or husband with the army and the Bishop had told them that the evil Queen had deserted the army and returned to Arendelle to flee, leaving them at the mercy of Hans' revenge.

Some people had tried to calm down the spirits, but Bodo had been fueling the fear of the population for days, depicting Elsa's maneuvers during the conference as stupid and blatant acts which had provoked the war against Westergard and Elsa's powers as something evil and out of control which would destroy her and Arendelle.

"She has returned! She had deserted our sons!" Voices shouted when they saw their Queen. Some of them picked up stones and horse dung from the ground and started to throw it against the Queen.

Elsa looked in surprise and disbelief at her subjects while Kristoff quickly interposed between her and the mob.

Clarence took Elsa's arm. "Please Queen Elsa, enter the church. I and my men will teach them to respect their superiors." Clarence said, trying to pull the Queen towards the stairs in front of the church, but she ignored him and stepped forward.

"Tell Kai to go out and come here!" Elsa ordered.

"What are you doing?" The baron exclaimed in utter surprise when the Queen started to stride forward.

"I will handle this myself." Elsa said, putting a hand on Kristoff's shoulder.

The mountain man frowned, but he stepped aside and looked at Elsa, who started to calmly walk towards the mob.

The movement was so surprising that the leaders of the crowd instinctively raised their arms and stopped their march. A strange silence fell upon the small square. Elsa slowly strode forward and, since more people continuously came from the adjacent streets, the mob quickly surrounded her. Kristoff gulped seeing that many men wore their pitchforks, hoes and sickles, but he remained aside. The atmosphere in the small square was strained and the smallest spark, like a mountain man facing them, could provoke an explosion.

"Here is the pagan snow witch! She abandoned your men!" Bodo shouted, stepping forward and facing Elsa. "Avenge them now, before she uses her powers!" He ordered. Some men raised their arms to throw a stone or dung, but the silence was too oppressive and they were too used to respect the figure of a Queen, so the crowd just expectantly looked at the fragile figure alone among them with her arms hanging by her sides.

Elsa ignored Bodo's words and centered her attention in one of the leaders. He knew the man because he used to be the representative of his quarter when they asked the Queen's intervention in any issue. He was a difficult and curt man, but Elsa considered him intelligent. "Bjorn Frilund, why you and my people appear before me? What grievances do you have?" Elsa asked, using the words of the formal receptions. Elsa saw that the man was about to bow before replying as if he was in a reception in the castle.

The man hesitated, but he quickly controlled himself. "You told us that you would never use your powers to freeze Arendelle, but you broke that agreement!" He said in his usual aggressive style.

"I used them against the enemy of Arendelle. The storm struck the Southern Isles army in order to weaken it before the battle." Elsa said, although she knew that it would be equivalent to an admission of her guilt for the foreign delegates, but she couldn't be subtle.

"Where are our sons?" A feminine voice asked.

"They are in a small valley two days away on horse to the South. We have won the battle against the Southern Isles army, but many men are wounded and we need supplies from Arendelle. I have returned to reach an agreement with the English delegate to raise his siege of the castle and we will be able to help the wounded."

A murmur spread across the mob. The unexpected news of victory had taken them by surprise.

"We must kill her now!" Ebbe whispered to Clarence.

Clarence nodded but didn't reply. He was following with his eyes a man in the middle of the mob. He was a tall man with a great scar on his neck. He wore the clothes of a fisherman, but he was one of Clarence's men and his ace in the sleeve. The Baron had ordered him to remain near the Queen. He had a long knife hidden and was deadly skilled using it. Clarence's eyes meet with his for an instant and the Baron silently nodded.

The tall man started to push people aside to reach the Queen. Clarence turned and ran up the stairs in front of the church. There was the group of light infantry soldiers with their crossbows. The lieutenant had decided that from such high point his men dominated the entire square.

"Be ready with your men to shoot against the Queen."

"But sir she says that we won the battle. Maybe she doesn't want to sacrifice Arendelle." The lieutenant said, repeating the story that Stephan had devised to convince his soldiers to attack their Queen.

"Don't you realize that she is lying? She had sacrificed our comrades and now tries to deceive our people. Be ready to shoot when I give the command."

"But sir we will kill many people."

Clarence frowned. "It's better to sacrifice a few people than the entire population of Arendelle." He replied looking at the false fisherman who was reaching the Queen and the representative of the people.

"My Queen." Bjorn Frilund was saying. "You are wrong, the English haven't taken control of the town. Clarence and Ebbe's men control it, they said that you had sacrificed our sons using your powers."

Elsa's eyes widened in surprise when she suddenly realized that Kai's letter was false. At the same time she heard Kristoff's voice shouting behind her. "What are you doing? Stay away from the Queen!"

Elsa quickly turned on her heels, but the light of the setting sun dazzled her and she only saw the shadow of a corpulent man in front of her.

* * *

(*) Halkett refers to the attack of the royal navy to the city of Buenos Aires and the battle of Assaye in western India.

(**) Peninsular war: The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was a military conflict between Napoleon's empire and the allied powers of Spain, Britain and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars.


End file.
